Emotional Shields and Joyless Eyes
by ObviouslyObsessed
Summary: Max has been gone from the small town of Ari for two years. Now she's back, but completely different. She has become the thing Fang hates the most - a rich snob. With their joined - and unforgettable - pasts, high school has never been so hard. FAX. AU.
1. Bitter Betrayal

**SUMMARY: Max has been gone from the small town of Ari for two years. Now, she's back, but completely different. Fang is still the bad-boy she remembers, but now she has become the thing he hates the most – a rich snob. Will anything convince Max that being rich doesn't mean she can't have proper friends? FAX. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride. **

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**Chapter One – Bitter Betrayal **

**Fang's POV**

The beachside town of Ari was small, with a distinct history of wealthy families. Among them were the family that owned half of town – the Rides. Jeb and Val Ride owned the mansion on top of the cliff that overlooked the ocean and the rest of Ari. They had moved away two years ago, dragging their fifteen year old daughter, Maxine Ride, along with them.

Fang had known Max since pre-school. Well, he'd known ninety percent of the current student body since pre-school as well. The town was too small to have more than one school, no matter how many times the Cliffies petitioned for a private school. He'd first come up with the term 'Cliffies' (the rich snobs who lived in the mansions on the cliffs) in grade 4, and the term had spread like wildfire. Soon, every Non-Cliffy was using the term to refer to the upper-class citizens of Ari. He'd become a sort of legend after that.

Max had been so wild and free that most of the time he forgot that she was a Cliffy. They'd been best friends – along with Iggy and Nudge - and he had loved hanging out with her. However, it was in Jeb's best interests to break up any friendship they could have. He'd enlisted his complacent wife, Valencia, to start teaching Max the 'proper' way to act. She'd even gone so far as to make the right type of friends for Max – always inviting them to the mansion and forcing Max to do activities with them. Max had complained about the whole fiasco, but he couldn't help but notice that they were spending less and less time together. Her mother was monopolising her time, and thus they were growing apart.

But Valencia's efforts couldn't stop what happened in the caves along the beach. He'd taken her there as a last effort to keep their friendship. But then he'd done something he shouldn't have and the next day the mansion was packed up and the whole family was moving away. They'd played it off as a business move, but Fang knew better.

And here he was, two years later, leaning against his car in the school car park and smoking his second-last cigarette. He'd promised himself that he'd quit after he finished this packet. There was one more safely tucked into his pocket, alongside his lighter.

"You know that the teachers can see what you're doing, right?" Iggy said from his perch on the hood of Fang's car.

"I know they can see me. But are they going to stop me? No, because technically school hasn't started yet and I don't consider myself on school property."

"Whatever, they're just scared of you," Iggy laughed.

"That too," Fang agreed.

"So…" Iggy said, clearing his throat. "Did you hear?"

Fang didn't respond because the answer was obvious. He wasn't one to listen to any gossip unless it directly concerned him.

"Well…um…" Iggy stalled.

Fang waited, trying not to let his frustration show.

"Maxisbackintown," Iggy spat out.

"What? Talk slower."

"Max…is…back...in…town," Iggy restated.

Fang let his breath out in a huge whoosh, unaware that he'd been holding it. He was sure emotions were playing on his face, so he quickly shut down. He wouldn't let anyone see his reaction to that particular news.

"Her parents moved back into the mansion on the weekend. Apparently she's changed…like, heaps. Valencia must have sunk her claws into her. You know that she always wanted Max to be a proper lady and all that shit," Iggy explained.

"Yeah, I remember," he said tersely.

"Well, she starts school today."

"Are you sure she can stand attending a public school?" Fang asked bitterly. For some reason he felt betrayed, like she'd changed to spite him. He knew the feeling was stupid, but he couldn't stop it from taking a hold of his body.

"Well, I'm assuming that's her car right there," Iggy said, indicating the shiny silver Porsche that just entered the car park. Fang eyed it as it slowly pulled into a space two cars down from where he was sitting. Maxine Ride stepped out of the car and stood still for a moment, like she was unsure what to do. Then Lissa, also known by half the grade as the Rich Bitch, stepped out of the passenger side and looped Max's arm with her own.

When they passed by his shitbox of a car, Lissa looked at him with contempt and – although she tried to deny it – lust and wanting. Max seemed to be looking straight ahead and ignoring him completely. He couldn't tell if she knew he was there or not.

"Nice car. Did daddy buy it for you?" Fang called out, even though the answer was perfectly obvious.

She stopped and turned to face him. Recognition flashed through her eyes, making them widen slightly. She was looking at him, taking him in, so he took the opportunity to return the gesture. He looked her over, taking in her changed form. When she was fifteen, she'd been a little bit gawky with a promise of amazing beauty to come. She was too skinny for how tall she was and she'd been slightly awkward (in an endearing way). Now, she'd obviously grown into her body. She was gorgeous, he could admit. Her dirty blonde hair was longer and styled nicely. She had breasts now, that were full and lush and perfectly in proportion to her slim and promising figure. Her brown eyes were the same, but lacking the joy that used to dance within the beautiful orbs.

He briefly wondered what she saw in him, but the slight blush on her cheeks told him all he needed to know. She was thinking of the night in the cave, just like him. They'd been young then, but now they knew a lot more about life. He smirked at her and her blush deepened.

Lissa nudged Max with her too-skinny arm and gave her a look. The blush disappeared from Max's face and was replaced with an icy demeanour he didn't recognise.

"The car was my birthday present, thank you very much," she stated, raising one delicate eyebrow at him.

So it was true – she'd become a true Cliffy. The icicles hanging from her mouth gave her away. His smirk disappeared and he knew she noticed. He took a final drag of his cigarette and dropped it on the ground. He stepped away from his car and squashed it under his shoe, making sure to stand so that he was only a few inches away from Max. When he was done he regarded her coolly before he walked towards his first class with Iggy trailing behind. He smirked when he felt her eyes following him.

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**Max's POV**

Maxine Ride couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day. When Lissa introduced her as 'Maxine' to her friends, she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from correcting her. Max had been her nickname throughout school, and she'd only started being called Maxine two years ago… after the cave incident. She gritted her teeth. She would _not_ think about that particular night.

Instead – knowing it was inevitable – she focused on Fang. He'd changed so much. He was more closed off than ever – refusing to give even the slightest hint of his emotions. It was like he'd erected an emotional shield. She'd had to use all of her knowledge about him to even guess what he was thinking. His smirk was exactly the same. It had always made her feel special when he smirked at her like that – but now she just felt empty and alone. He still clung to the bad boy image. Except now she believed the image a whole lot more than when they were kids. She could see in his eyes that he was dangerous, that he could hurt someone really bad if the need ever arose. The cigarette in his hand was redundant – she could tell with one look that he was someone to be wary of. He practically oozed masculinity and danger.

He looked good too. He was tall with defined muscles that made her heart skip a beat. He'd filled out since she'd last seen him. Jet black hair fell into his eyes – which were dark and dangerous. They were filled with mysteries that she desperately wanted to unravel. But it wasn't her place to know those mysteries. She was a Ride and he wasn't worth her attention. She knew that nothing would ever come of their friendship. Well, she knew that now. She didn't know it back then…

"Maxine, will you be sitting with us at lunch?" Lissa asked, as if the answer wasn't perfectly obvious.

As soon as the Rides were comfortable in their home, Valencia had invited Lissa over. Max remembered hating Lissa when she was younger. The girl was as hard as plastic, and often looked like it too. She'd taken to calling her Barbie in her thoughts. Her long red hair was perfectly groomed. Her bright green eyes were always hard and shiny, like she knew everyone was looking at her when she walked past. She was incredibly skinny with proportions that should have left her toppling over with the slightest breeze. But Lissa was her friend now. She had to play nice with all the other Cliffies so that she would have contacts when she was older. She couldn't miss her old friends and she definitely couldn't miss Fang.

"I would love to sit with you at lunch," Max replied, smiling appropriately.

"Excellent," Lissa said with a too-bright smile. Her fingers dug into Max's arm as she led her through the maze that was the cafeteria. They stopped at the table in the middle of the room. It was the cleanest, most desirable table. She had to refrain from shaking her head at the whole scene. She had to remind herself that in a school like this, every little thing – no matter how inconsequential – mattered. If that meant that the rich kids got the best table, then so be it.

"So, we've heard a lot of rumours about why you left, Max. Do you want to fill us in?" Kathy, who was a particularly curious girl, asked. Kathy was no doubt the centre of the school's gossip mill.

"Kathy," Lissa hissed with a discouraging look. "Sorry Max, Kathy wasn't born on the Cliffside," she added, as if that explained everything.

"Uh, that's okay. We just left for business. Mother also thought it best that I get a proper education from a private school for a few years," she lied. She didn't want to think about why she'd been forced to move from her home town. "We couldn't stand to be away from home for very long though, so as soon as business was wrapped up we moved back." She didn't add that it had taken a lot of coercion to convince her mother that she was 'proper' enough to resist the temptation of particular 'unworthy' friends.

Kathy didn't seem pleased by the story, but she didn't look like she thought Max was lying either.

"Well, we're glad you're back. When are you having the party?" Kathy said.

"Party?"

"Aren't you having a party for your arrival back in town?" Lissa asked, her brows puckering slightly.

"Oh. I'll have to consult with mother. She's making all the arrangements," Max said, not knowing if that was the case or not.

"Excellent. Who will you be inviting?" Lissa and Kathy both looked extremely interested.

"Well…I suppose you two will need to help me. I have no idea who's who nowadays. Maybe you guys could draft a list?"

"Terrific!" Kathy said enthusiastically while Lissa tried to pretend that she didn't care.

Max ate her carefully prepared salad and tried to surreptitiously watch the people around her. The Worthington twins had grown quite handsome since the last time she'd seen them. They were heading towards her table, no doubt rich enough to hang out with Lissa and Kathy.

Max also spied Nudge, one of her old friends, chatting amiably with a bunch of girls wearing high socks and pigtails. A pang went through her chest at the sight of her old friend. Nudge hadn't changed one bit on the outside. She'd grown even more beautiful with brown skin and amazing hair. Max wished she could just give the girl a big hug. But she wasn't sure how Nudge – or Lissa and Kathy – would take that. Sure, Nudge was a Cliffy (barely), but Max didn't feel confident enough in her new situation to initiate anything.

The Worthington twins finally joined their table and chatted to Lissa and Kathy. Max knew she should have been joining in to the conversation, but she couldn't bring herself to stop looking just yet. She finally stopped deluding herself and admitted that the one person she was looking for wasn't here. Her shoulders sagged as thoughts of Fang threatened to overtake her.

"Max?" a sweet voice called from her side. Max's head snapped up until she was looking Nudge squarely in the face.

"Nudge?" Max asked, her hopes rising.

"I heard you were back in town. How have you been?" Nudge pulled out a chair and plunked into it, looking excited and a little sad at the same time.

"I've been fine. We just moved back in last weekend."

The table was silent as they listened to her speak. Nudge didn't seem to mind, so Max tried to push it out of her mind.

"Well, that's good to hear! We'll have to get in touch real soon. Unfortunately, I have to go to an emergency band practise right now, but I'll definitely have to talk to you later." With that, Nudge was off to her next location. She was like a whirlwind, the way she greeted every second person on her way to the music block.

"You should definitely invite Nudge to your party. She's so nice and friendly to every single person. Everyone loves her," Kathy said with a smile.

"Yeah, I swear that girl is best friends with everyone," Lissa added with a slight scowl.

"Maybe you should just invite all the seniors to your party, Max," Kathy said with a bright grin. "The losers wouldn't dare show up and that way you can get reacquainted with everyone!"

Lissa nodded slowly, a rare smile stretching across her pretty face.

"Uh, okay. If you guys say so." Her heart grew warm at the thought of inviting Nudge to her party. Just to have a piece of her past in her home made her smile.

Slowly, Max got over her fascination with finding Fang in the cafeteria. Fang was a part of her past that could never happen. Nudge, on the other hand, could easily be her friend. So, with a somewhat lighter heart, Max focused on the future her mother had shown her. The only future she could possibly have.

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**A/N: So, what did you think? Please review!**


	2. Burger Fervour

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride. **

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Chapter Two – Burger Fervour

**Fang's POV**

Serving drinks to surly old men wasn't Fang's idea of a dream job. However, the pay was good and he was one of the only people who knew how to properly mix drinks in this joint. Sure, he was underage, but he had all the necessary paperwork to serve alcoholic beverages. Iggy was in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. Fang didn't mind the afternoon rush as much as the night crowd. Usually teenagers would fill the place, eating a quick meal and ordering milkshakes (which he still had to make). The surly old men usually rocked up when all the teenagers were gone.

Burger Fervour catered to everyone. In one corner were a pool table and some video games that –while ancient – still entertained the customers. Booths lined the wall opposite to the game side and tables were interspersed throughout the diner. The bar was situated directly in front of the entrance and blocked off the kitchen. It was a nice set-up and one of the most popular hangouts for the teenage crowd after school and alcoholic crowd after dark.

Fang was cleaning down the bar when he heard the front door open. The chill that swept over his body somehow informed him of exactly who was at the door. He glanced over just to make sure. Max was standing in the doorway with Lissa, Kathy, Kyle and Samuel Worthington, Julia Hammersmith and … Nudge?

His eyes focused back on Max. She hadn't noticed him yet and he found himself covertly studying her. He could tell by the set of her shoulders and mouth that she wasn't relaxed. By the looks of it, she hadn't been relaxed for a very long time. Maybe two years? The thought made him smirk, not that he believed it. He told himself he was just being stupid.

"Hey Fang," Julia said, thrusting her chest out so that he couldn't help but get an eyeful of her breasts. They were the biggest breasts he'd ever seen on someone her age, and she sure used them. She was the biggest slut in the entire school – which was a feat within itself. She was also constantly flirting with him, trying to get something she could never have. Fang wasn't an idiot. He knew not to get involved with a girl like Julia. She would likely suck out his soul and then stalk him for a year. He had learned to stay away from freaks.

The first time he'd made love was to a girl named Brigit. He'd been sixteen and she'd been a year older. She'd practically forced herself onto him until he had no choice but to keep going. She'd done most of the work while he'd focused on trying to enjoy himself. He hadn't. Then she'd continued to stalk him for two months until she finally graduated and had to move away. He still got the occasional letter from her, explaining just how deeply she loved him. It still gave him the creeps.

"What can I get you?" Fang asked professionally.

"Well…" she said, biting her bottom lip and sitting down on the bar stool. He wondered if she was going to say some sort of innuendo. Instead, she just smiled and chirped, "a strawberry milkshake please."

He set about making a round of milkshakes for everyone but Max – who was still undecided due to her lack of familiarity with the menu. When he set the milkshakes down and looked to Max, she was worrying her bottom lip in a much more attractive way than Julia had been.

He studied her delicate features and couldn't help the rush of desire he felt towards her. He'd tried to feel desire for Brigid and the other girls he'd been with. But he'd never felt it as potently as he'd felt it right now, towards Max. Then again, if he was being honest with himself, he hadn't felt any desire for the girls he'd been with.

"I'll just have a caramel milkshake, please," she said softly. Her voice did things to him that he was unwilling to admit. He kept his expression plain, though, as he made her a milkshake and set it down in front of her. He acted as if he didn't know her, using the shield he'd learned to erect when he was young and broken. When he was friends with Max, he'd let those shields down around her. Now he couldn't help but keep them in place. In fact, he suspected that he hadn't let them down since she'd moved away.

The group moved away to a corner booth. No matter how hard he tried, his gaze always returned to Max. She was like a magnet – her pull too strong for him to resist. Resistance might have been possible if it had been more than two years since he'd last seen her. But the memories were fresh, as if it had all happened yesterday. Perhaps he was deluding himself. He probably would've found that if he hadn't seen Max for another fifty years, he would still feel her presence just as much as he could feel it now. Time wouldn't change how Max affected him.

"Fangy, do you think we could get a plate of chips?" Julia asked in a little girl voice that made him grit his teeth. That, plus the nickname she'd felt the need to use. She'd sidled up to the counter while he'd been covertly watching Max. He looked at her now and gave nothing away.

"Coming right up," he said with a tight smile. His boss insisted that he at least attempt to appear friendly. He rang the order up and fought the urge to look over at Max again.

"So, Maxine is having a party this weekend and I was wondering if you were going. She's inviting all of the seniors!" Julia bit her lip and cast her eyes downward in a show of innocence. "Maybe you could come with me."

He studied her features and tried to see what everyone else saw. She was pretty, with big blue eyes, dark hair and big breasts. But no matter how hard he looked at her, he couldn't feel an ounce of passion. He didn't want to sleep with this girl. He didn't even want to look at her.

"Are you okay? You're kind of staring at me," Julia said after a moment, frowning. He ignored her and kept staring.

Could he accomplish anything by turning up to Max's party with Julia? No, not unless his goal was to make Max jealous. And who was to say that Max should be jealous? Their friendship was long ago and she'd clearly changed. No, it wouldn't accomplish anything.

Julia looked uncomfortable. Finally, without saying a word she stood up and left. He often had that effect on people. He wasn't the talkative type and spending too long in his presence, silent, tended to freak most people out.

"Fang!" Nudge said as she bounded over to the counter. She was as energetic as always, smiling radiantly at him.

"What's up?" he asked. He'd always liked Nudge and it was no secret how Fang warmed when Nudge was around. Most people thought he had a thing for her. Few knew that Nudge was like family to him.

"What do you think of Maxine being back?" Nudge always got straight to the point.

He shrugged.

"I think she's trying really hard to be something she's not. She's got this whole 'I'm a lady' crap going on that is just plain bullshit. I think you could crack her," Nudge suggested with a grin that lit up her face.

"I don't think she's pretending. Her mother-"

"-Is a stupid ho," Nudge interrupted. "But that doesn't mean Max is. She's been brainwashed. I think you could help her."

"Who says I give a shit?" Fang asked stonily.

Nudge's eyebrows slammed into a frown as she studied him. "I think that maybe you're trying too hard to forget her. She's a part of us, Fang. Me, you, Iggy and Max -that's the way it's always been. I don't understand why you're not trying harder to be her friend again." Nudge was upset and he felt horrible for causing it.

"Nudge. Things change. Maxine Ride is too good for someone like me or Iggy. I mean, you're a Cliffy too, so you two can be friends. But Max was always going to go a separate way from me and Iggy. It was inevitable."

"You're scared," Nudge accused.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You don't know anything."

"I know that you keep looking over at her. I know that you lo-"

"Is there a problem over here?" Samuel Worthington asked, putting a protective hand on the small of Nudge's back.

"We're fine," Nudge said shortly.

"Don't touch her," Fang said in a low voice, glaring at Sam's hand.

Samuel looked amused. "Oh, I didn't realise she was your girlfriend," he said haughtily.

"Sam-" Nudge began.

"Well, she's not yours," Fang spat. He had never spoken to Sam in his life. In fact, he was sure he'd spoken more today than he ever had before.

"What's your problem?" Sam asked, puffing out his chest and looking like a complete moron. Fang wondered if he should just punch him.

Clearly on the same wavelength, Sam curled his hand into a fist.

"Is there a problem here, guys?" Iggy asked, holding a plate of chips in his hand and looking confused.

"Ask your friend," Sam spat.

"Well, how about we just forget about this and you can take your chips and go back to your friends. I'm sure they're hungry by now," Iggy suggested like a true diplomat.

"If I wanted piss-weak chips cooked by a worthless hobo, I would go to-"

Sam never got a chance to finish his sentence because, in the next second, Fang had punched him squarely in the nose. It started to bleed as Sam let out a wail akin to that of a new born baby.

"Fang!" he heard someone shout, but he didn't care. _No one_ insulted his best friend. He knew he looked ruthless at that moment. The look of fear on everyone's faces confirmed as much. But Fang was used to being feared. He was also used to punching people, so he ignored the slight throbbing in his fist.

"Fang, I think you should go and cool down," Iggy said, gently pushing him out the front door. In a haze, Fang stumbled out the front door and sat on a nearby bench. He could hear people fretting over Sam. He could even hear his supervisor, Stan, cursing at the top of his lungs. But what really got his attention was the sound of the distinctly feminine voice behind him.

"What?" he asked, breaking out of his haze.

"I asked if we could talk," Max said, obviously repeating herself.

He shrugged and didn't stop her from sitting down next to him.

"Why did you punch Sam?" she asked.

"I don't like him," Fang said as an answer.

Max sighed and he looked at her curiously. "I used to be able to read you like a book. Now you're so completely shut off that I have trouble even discerning your mood."

He was silent.

So was she.

Finally, he said, "Your eyes used to be filled with joy. Now they're empty."

She looked at him strangely then.

"Well, it has been hard these past few years."

He snorted. "Yeah, being rich and pampered must be so hard for you."

Her mouth gaped open. "You have no right to judge me! I may be rich, but it doesn't mean I don't have trouble like everyone else!"

"Maxine, I don't give a shit." She winced – at the use of her full name or the swear word? – and then frowned. He could see that he'd hurt her and that fact made him feel bad. But he wasn't about to let her know that.

"You used to," she said in a tiny voice.

"That was before you were a true Cliffy. Before, we could have been friends. Now, you wouldn't even associate with someone like me."

"Fang…"

"Don't lie. We both know it's true. So whatever you think you know - remember that this was your choice. You chose to be what you are, and so you chose not to be my friend in the process."

"I missed you," she whispered, tears shining in her eyes.

He reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm. He remembered the girl that used to play in the mud with him, play tag and spar with him. Most of all, he remembered the night in the cave. After all, he'd never forgotten her. Not once.

"I missed you too," he admitted softly, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He knew he'd regret this later, but for the moment he let himself say a proper goodbye. She seemed to sense this as well, because the tears spilled down her cheeks. He swept them away with his fingers and finally stood up.

"Goodbye, Max."

Without glancing back, he walked home. There was no way he could keep on working after what he'd just done to both Sam and Max.

He couldn't forget how he'd called her 'Max', not 'Maxine', when he'd said goodbye.

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**A/N: Have you ever had anyone call you an annoying nickname? **


	3. Pity Party

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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Chapter Three – Pity Party

**Max's POV**

The rest of that week at school was a nightmare. Max couldn't help but look for Fang in every classroom she passed, or every time they had lunch. Even when she did see him in the one class they shared together – History – it was like she didn't exist. His eyes stayed glued to the front, his expression blank. Even when she was asked a question and everyone turned to listen to her reply, Fang stayed still, facing the front.

She wasn't used to being ignored. Her other friends treated her like she was some sort of God. Everyone knew her as the girl who lived on the highest part of the cliffs. She was popular. She was powerful. But none of it mattered because she couldn't have Fang.

"So, the theme is Hawaiian. It's been so hot the last few days that we thought it could be a beach party," Lissa explained as she handed out an invitation to everyone that walked past. Most of the invites had been done electronically through Facebook and email. But there were still some 'nobodies', according to Lissa, that needed to be invited.

Max listened and smiled and nodded at the appropriate times, making an effort to at least appear cheerful. Really, she was trying to figure out how much she'd changed. She remembered having more fun when she was little. Hanging out with Fang, Iggy and Nudge had been what she'd looked forward to every day. When she was finished being a lady for her mother, she would run to meet with them and ruin her pretty dresses because she was in too much of a hurry to get changed out it them. She had much preferred shorts anyway.

Now, she couldn't remember the last time she'd truly had fun. Maybe she hadn't since she'd left two years ago.

Rumours had circled about Maxine Ride all week. People were speculating about why she really left, whether she was pregnant, if she was going to take over Lissa's spot as Queen Bee, etc. Most people believed the story about moving for business. Only one person knew the real reason, but he wasn't the type to spread gossip.

All of a sudden, Max could sense a change in the mood of the hallway. The constant chatter had died down until there was only the buzz of whispering. Max followed everyone's gazes until she saw the cause. Max knew that Fang was good looking, but as she watched him walking down the middle of the corridor with Iggy at his side, she thought that he wasn't just good looking, he was sexy. Every girl watched with lust filled eyes as he passed them. Every guy watched with envy or respect. It seemed that Fang wasn't just another bad boy wannabe. He was _the_ bad boy.

Until that moment, Max hadn't realised just how much the girls desired Fang. She hadn't realised that she wasn't the only one who thought he was extremely good looking. But the thing was, Fang seemed oblivious to all of the stares and whispering. He only looked straight ahead.

She bit her lip as he passed where her group was standing. But she should have known better than to expect anything. He treated her just like anyone else. After all, why should she be special? They'd already gone over the fact that they could never be friends. Why should he waste energy on her?

"Max, you guys are kidding yourselves," Nudge whispered into her ear.

"What?" she spluttered, tearing her gaze away from Fang and focusing on Nudge.

Nudge shook her head sadly. "You're so transparent." Then Nudge walked away and Max was left wondering what she was talking about.

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"So, I heard you're having a party," Kurt – a football player – said as he leaned against the locker next to Max.

"Yeah. All seniors are invited," she said, trying not to roll her eyes. She was a lady now.

"Well, I can't wait to see you in a bikini." He grinned a big goofy grin.

Max laughed, wincing at how fake it sounded.

Kurt was the kind of guy her mother would approve of. He lived on the cliffs and owned one of the biggest mansions – apart from hers. He was a football star, earned decent marks (although it seemed unlikely by listening to him speak), and had an acceptable family name.

"Well, you'll have to come and find me," she said, striving for alluring. It seemed to work, because Kurt was momentarily speechless. Then he recovered himself and winked as he made his exit.

Sometimes, she hated herself. What she'd become – her mother's daughter – made her really sad. She used to express herself in her own way. Now, she was constantly biting her tongue. She used to hate people who had relationships –friendship or more – with people they didn't really like. Now, she was one of those people. This was her future. There was no other way for her to act. But right now, she would've rather jumped off a bridge than keep on living this way.

When she looked up from her musings, Fang was looking at her. She was standing against her locker and hadn't heard him approach. Everyone had already left for class. The way he was looking at her made her want to die. The judgement in his eyes was too much. For once, she had no trouble understanding that look on his face. He truly despised her now.

"I'm sorry," she said, before she gathered her books and walked past him. She hated how pathetic her voice sounded.

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"I bought you a new bikini for your little party," Valencia announced as she entered Max's room. She was holding the article in her hands. "I also got you one of those grass skirts like you asked. You should find it to your satisfaction."

"Thank you," Max said.

"Everything's ready. The guests should be arriving in an hour," Val continued. "Perhaps you should get dressed now," she prompted.

Max nodded.

Val seemed to sense her mood, because the next thing she knew, her mother was sitting on the edge of her bed and folding her perfectly manicured hands in her lap.

"Maxine, I know that things have been a bit hard for you since we returned. You've been in contact with that _boy_ and God knows what he has said to you. But we moved back because I knew I could trust you to behave like a proper lady. You aren't that wild little girl you were before you left. Now, you are a disciplined young lady that is making the right choices. You will never run in the same circles as that boy, dear. He is scum beneath your feet. He doesn't have the means to be wealthy. You must forget about him and look to the future. Soon, you will find a suitable husband and settle down to be the lady I know you are. Do you think you can do that?"

Max swallowed, digesting everything that her mother had just said. "I think there is more than one way to be wealthy, mother."

"But there is only one type of wealthy that matters to people of our stature, Maxine."

Maybe she didn't want that type of wealth.

"I understand," she said instead.

"Excellent. Now, get changed so that you are ready to meet your guests. Your father and I will stay upstairs, but we expect everything to run smoothly."

"Yes, mother."

"Good," Val said as she exited the room.

**

* * *

**

From what she could tell, the party was a raging success. Bodies were everywhere. Sounds of splashing could be heard by the pool where most people were hanging out. Waiters had been hired to supply drinks for the duration of the party. They all wore grass skirts and coconut bras. Well, the male servers weren't wearing skirts or bras, but you got the picture.

Inside, teenagers were everywhere. Couples were hanging out on the couches. People were dancing in the middle of the spacious room. Music was blasting from the temporary DJ booth. It was a teenage party through and through.

"Kurt is practically stripping you with his eyes. You going to hook up with him tonight?" Julia asked.

"Umm," she replied, too busy searching faces for the one person she knew wasn't coming tonight. Why was she resolved to hurting herself? Fang didn't want to be with her. It was as simple as that. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to be with him.

"I say go for it. He's a hunk," Julia said with a saucy smile.

"Why don't you go for it, then?" Max asked, still distracted.

"Been there, done that," Julia said with a lick of her lips.

Max's eyebrows scrunched together in disgust. But she quickly smoothed them out lest she offend Julia.

"I'm thinking of getting my hands on a real prize this month," Julia said secretively.

"Ah-huh. Who's your prize?"

"Only the most sought after male in the entire school. Fang is so yummy and so mysterious! What I wouldn't give to spend a night with him. And rumour has it that the only way a girl can sleep with him is if they don't want a relationship. It's always a one-time thing. You know – uncomplicated sex; which is perfect, because that's exactly what I want!"

Max stared at Julia for a long moment. "That's true?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"Well, as far as I know. I'll have to see, won't I? But I'll have to get to him before Lissa does. She wants to snag him as a trophy boyfriend or something like that. If they dated, she'd be unstoppable. It would mean dictatorship far worse than it is at the moment."

"Lissa isn't that bad," Max said automatically.

"You haven't even seen her true colours yet. You're a threat to her, as far as she's concerned. You'll start to see what she's really like and you'll either surrender and become just another lackey, or you'll rise to the occasion and show her who's really boss. She's a real bitch, Max. I know from experience."

Max bit her bottom lip in thought. She didn't like the sick feeling she had in her stomach. Talk of Fang being regarded as some sort of trophy was making her angry. She imagined Lissa's lips on Fang's and nearly growled.

"What should I expect?" she asked.

"Well, she's just scouting you out at the moment. I don't think she expects much of a fight from you. Seriously, Max, you don't exactly have a tough exterior."

_I used to._

"But she'll start by testing just how much you'll do for her. She might make you do her homework or stuff like that. It depends, really. She usually finds your weakness; an old lover, maybe a family secret. She's a force to be reckoned with."

Max's expression turned hard. Her mother had tried to teach her to be a delicate lady. Maybe in order to stay on top (of her life and her future business) she had to be tough. Maybe the way Max used to be was better in the long run. She smirked.

"I can see that you're determined to fight. Maybe you just might make it to the finish line. But I've seen people more determined than you meet their social ruin in a war with Lissa. I hope you know what you're doing," Julia said.

"No clue. But I'll manage," Max replied, losing a bit of her edge. She hadn't needed to be tough in so long. She could hardly remember what to do. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she thought.

"I think I'll go talk to Kurt," Julia announced with a predatory grin.

Max just laughed and continued to be a great host.

**

* * *

**

When the party was over, Max didn't feel any better. She'd spent the whole night surreptitiously searching for Fang. But it was all in vain. Fang wouldn't show up to a party like hers. He hated Cliffies.

She sighed in resignation. At least she felt better knowing that it would be extremely hard for Lissa to get her claws into Fang. But she worried about the rumour surrounding Fang's sexual conquests. Did he really just sleep around with people, demanding no commitment or love? The thought made her sad and…jealous? She was probably only jealous that Fang could get anyone he wanted and she couldn't. Yeah, that was likely considering she was seventeen and still a virgin. Not that it was bad to be a virgin; it was just a little frustrating to have no good relationships to boast about whatsoever.

She wondered what Fang would think about that. The closest she'd come to losing her virginity was…

"What are you doing outside, Max?" Valencia Ride called. "It's about to start raining. Come inside before you catch a chill."

"I think I'm going to stay outside for a while longer," Max threw over her shoulder. "I'm going for a drive."

"Don't be ridiculous! It's too late to go for a drive!" Val almost yelled.

But it was too late because Max was already grabbing her keys out of her pocket and heading towards the garage. She needed to visit the place that haunted her dreams. She needed to put an end to her longing for a friendship with Fang. It was unhealthy.

She was going to the cave.

**

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**A/N: Have you ever had a particularly bad run-in with a bitchy teenage gir****l? **

**I would also like to say that I'm changing the rating to M after I upload the next chapter. It won't be anything graphic or really detailed, but I'd prefer to be on the safe side. **


	4. Under Thunder

**A/N: I have changed the rating just for safety reasons. I'm a bit paranoid after I read the ratings guide. lol. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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Chapter Four – Under Thunder

**Fang's POV**

"Iggy, what the hell is wrong with you?" Fang asked in frustration.

"Huh?" Iggy asked belatedly.

Fang raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, nothing: just thinking."

"Why do you sound like such a girl?"

"Well…"

"This is about a girl, isn't it?" Fang stated.

Iggy's cheeks turned pink in response.

"Who is she?" Fang demanded.

"Umm…"

Fang watched Iggy silently, with a hint of menace.

"Okay… Her name is Ella Martinez."

"That girl in the year below us that always moons over you?" Fang asked. "She seems sweet. Too bad you're not."

"Hey! She said she really likes me and that…" He seemed uncomfortable.

"So you want to date now?" Fang was getting sick of asking questions. In fact, he was sick of talking. But talking seemed the only way to get anything done these days.

"Well, she's really pretty, and you know that Nudge never even looks at me unless she wants something…"

"Dude, I hope this isn't some ploy to make Nudge jealous."

"I've known Nudge for so long and we've been really good friends. But I doubt she'd ever feel anything more. This way, I have a healthy distraction and I can try and get over her."

Fang was silent.

"Plus, Ella is really nice and everything. It's not like I don't want to date her."

"…"

"She's pretty too," Iggy added.

"…"

"She's exactly what I need."

"…"

"Dude, you're making me nervous. Obviously you've used up your quota of talking for the day. Man, it creeps me out when you do this. It makes me feel like I have to talk enough for the two of us."

Fang laughed then, breaking Iggy's tension.

"We're going out tonight." Iggy checked his watch and blanched. "Speaking of which, I'm going to be late. I'll see you later."

Iggy took off before Fang could force himself to say something. He watched his friend depart with a fondness that surprised him. Iggy was like a brother to him, but he seldom thought about the deep friendship they shared.

**

* * *

**

"Where have you been?" Roxy, Fang's mother, demanded.

"Out."

"You were supposed to come home an hour ago! Your father has been waiting for you. You better go and see him." Roxy was scary when she was mad; but not as scary as Fang's father, Rex. Luckily, Fang was perfectly accustomed to his parents' wrath. He'd stopped being scared of them a long time ago and learned to just put up with his mother's verbal abuse and his father's physical abuse. He'd crafted the perfect emotional shield to deal with their 'parenting'.

"Fang," Rex said coldly as Fang entered his father's study. Rex was a man of business –illegal business. He'd built quite a nest egg, but he never spent a dime on Fang. In fact, he never spent any money to fix up their rickety house, either. Rex believed that secrecy was the key to his business. So he never let any of his contacts know his real name or identity and he kept their house dirty and dilapidated so that no one got suspicious. Instead, he spent his money on whores and god knew what else. He also kept his wife happy with promises that one day they would move into a mansion and he'd never have to work again. Fang suspected that he already had a house on the cliffs and was just waiting for the right time to take Roxy and leave Fang to his own devices. Fang had never been a part of the plan, and he doubted that he would be part of any future plan either.

He was just glad they hadn't named him Rufus, like they'd planned. He could barely deal with Rex and Roxy -let alone Rex, Roxy and Rufus.

"Father," Fang finally replied.

"I asked you to be home an hour ago. I have an important business meeting and I need someone home to insure that this isn't a set-up." Rex's reasoning never made sense to Fang, but he pretended like it did.

"Well, I'm home now, so why don't you just run along to your meeting." Fang's voice was perfectly emotionless.

"You disobeyed an order, Fang."

Fang knew when to stay silent.

The fist came out of nowhere and landed just below Fang's eye socket. He staggered, wincing, and then forced himself not to react any further.

"I hope you understand why you deserved that. Now, I have a meeting to get to. If anyone asks, you got into a fight with some gang or something, understood?"

Fang's mind was filled with a long string of profanities.

Rex left the room, unfazed by the violence he'd just delivered to his son. Fang touched the tender skin under his eye and knew that it would be completely black by morning. With a sigh, he got some ice from the freezer and went to his room. He lay on his bed, staring at the roof and wondering what it would be like if he had a normal family; or maybe if he had no family at all.

He'd never told anyone about his home life. Iggy was suspicious, but he never mentioned it. For that, Fang was thankful. The closest he'd ever come to telling someone the whole truth was with Max. But he'd baulked then and only told her that he had a pretty rough home life. He'd wanted to tell her so much, but he'd known that she couldn't help him. No one could. Max had money. She wouldn't have a clue what it was like to be abused and to live in a shitty home that barely had any food. His parents always ate out, so he was left to his own devices – scavenging food from his kind neighbours, eating leftovers at school. Until he'd gotten a job, he'd had it pretty bad. But now he could provide for himself. His dad never asked for Fang's money. He rather liked that his son was so independent. It meant he could run away with his wife all the sooner.

He was still awake when he heard Rex and Roxy come home. Roxy was giggling and making suggestions that he assumed his father couldn't refuse. When he heard their door slam and the bed begin to creak, he knew he had to get out of there.

He was still dressed in jeans and a hoodie, so he grabbed his wallet and shoes and made his way downstairs. His parents weren't the type to check up on him. And if they did, he doubted they'd care.

He got in his car and started it up, not caring if his parents heard or not. It wasn't the first time he'd snuck out and it wasn't like his parents cared.

He drove around town for a while and finally decided on his destination when tiny drops of water started to land on his windscreen. He pulled up into a car park near the beach and pulled his hoodie up. The sand was wet and soggy – but he put up with it. The cave was well hidden behind an arrangement of rocks. Few people knew about its existence, which he was grateful for.

Lightning cracked over the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder. At exactly the same moment the rain started bucketing down, drenching him within seconds.

He made it inside the cave and took off his soaking wet hoodie and shook out his hair. Hiss shirt was plastered to his skin, so he took that off as well and threw over a rock to dry. Shirtless, he took in the cave and couldn't help the memories that overcame him.

**

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**

"_I haven't showed anyone else this place before," Fang said with a smirk as he led Max into the hidden cave. It was fairly big with plenty of room to move around. The roof was high above them, making the space less claustrophobic. He'd spent hours making this cave his second home. In the corner was a chair he'd snuck in from his dingy room. There was also a mattress pushed up against the wall and a table he'd made in his woodwork class standing in the middle of the cave. It was quite cosy, if he did say so himself. _

"_What do you think?" he asked in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. _

"_It's beautiful," Max said with a smile. _

"_We can hang out here whenever you want. We can even meet up here when you get angry at your parents," Fang suggested._

_Max was grinning. She plopped herself down on the mattress and patted the spot next to her. Fang joined her and placed his arm around her shoulder in a display of friendship. _

_When he looked at her, something was different. She had always been beautiful, but that night she looked absolutely magnificent. Irresistable. Her skin glowed in the dim lighting of the candle he'd lit. Her hair was shining with something that obviously wasn't hair product. Her lips were slightly parted in the most seductive way he could have ever imagined. Her eyes were dancing with joy and some other emotion he couldn't place. _

_He did the only thing his brain could understand at that moment. He kissed her. _

_She gave a startled cry when his lips touched hers, but then she let out the cutest sound he'd ever heard and started to kiss him back. Her lips parted in invitation and he eagerly delved his tongue into the unknown depths of her mouth. She tasted like everything wonderful in the world. _

_Her hand went to the back of his neck as his tangled in her hair. He'd never known that kissing Max could have been so amazing. Every one of his senses was on fire. When he finally pulled away for air, his breath was ragged. So was hers. _

_He studied her for a moment, sure that she would run away any second. But she didn't. Instead, she pulled him in for another kiss._

_They must have kissed for hours. Sometimes, fast and furious with so much passion that it was a wonder they didn't spontaneously combust. Other times, they went slowly and languidly. They explored each others mouths until both of their lips were tender and raw. _

_Slowly, he trailed his fingers down her side until they were under her shirt. Looking into her eyes for permission, he tugged the piece of fabric up until it was over her head. She didn't stop him. _

_His fingers traced the lace of her white bra with the inexperience of someone who'd never seen a real life girl shirtless before. He gingerly unclasped the bra at the back and let his lips travel down to the never before explored region. _

_Within moments, his shirt was removed as well. They slowly explored each others bodies, enjoying the reactions that a certain gesture elicited. He was fascinated by every sound Max made. He was fascinated by everything about Max. _

_When his hands fumbled with her pants, though, Max pulled away so that she was out of arms reach._

"_Fang, I don't think I'm ready to go all the way," she admitted timidly._

"_Okay, sure," he said, squashing his disappointment. He knew that they were moving way too fast. But it was hard for his overheated body to accept that. _

"_I just think that this was really sudden. I mean, we haven't even kissed before tonight," she elaborated._

"_I know. We were moving too fast. I understand."_

_She swallowed, studying his body with half lidded eyes. He looked at her swollen lips and smirked. He had waited far too long to kiss Maxine Ride. _

"_I don't know if I can be anything more than friends with you, Fang," she said, her eyes beginning to water. "My parents would never approve and I can't afford to get disowned or anything."_

_Fang frowned. "Then we won't tell your parents," he said, passing Max her bra. She quickly put it back on and threw her shirt on over it. He slowly put his shirt on as well._

"_I can't lie to my parents, Fang."_

"_Why not? They're always trying to control everything you do. Why should you care if you lie to them or not? I'm sure they lie to you!" _

"_Fang! I said I can't lie to them. I would feel so guilty."_

_He smirked. "I could take your guilt away." She didn't look impressed and he sobered up. "Max, I just want to be with you."_

"_Fang, we're from totally different worlds. Even if we were together that way, it wouldn't last."_

"_I can't believe you!" Fang exclaimed uncharacteristically. _

"_What? What can't you believe, Fang?" Max yelled. _

"_I can't believe you would buy into your parent's bullshit about how you can only marry someone rich! You can be with whoever you want, Max. You just have to want to be with him," Fang stated. _

"_I want to believe you. But I wouldn't have a family if I disobeyed them in this regard. They strictly told me not to date anyone that doesn't live on the cliffs. They made me swear it." _

"_This is about the money, isn't it? You're just scared that your parents will disown you and that you'll have no inheritance. When Jeb dies, he's going to leave his business and his fortune to you. I didn't think you were that…greedy."_

"_What's wrong with wanting some security? I would like to know that when I get older I have a house and a job and a family. I don't want to end up in a shabby hut with no food and barely any running water! I don't want to scrounge for a living. I don't want to be poor."_

_Fang glared at her with fury. He was burning inside. She'd just described his life as if she would rather kill herself than live like him._

"_Oh, Fang!" Max gasped after she'd realised exactly what she'd just described. "I didn't mean it like that!"_

"_I thought that you were different, Max. I thought that you were stronger than this. I thought you would believe in what we have. You're my best friend. You've been everything to me. But obviously I have nothing to lose and you do. Maybe you're not strong enough for my friendship. So, let's just cut our losses right now. We can't have a friendship with this between us. We can't have a relationship when you obviously won't make the sacrifices necessary. And if you're wondering, I've made plenty of sacrifices for you."_

_Fang had let his shield down around Max for years. He'd trusted her with his friendship and with his heart. And now she'd shattered it. He'd trusted her, and she'd just thrown it right back in his face. He'd have to rebuild his emotional shield and make sure he never let it down for anyone ever again. _

"_Fang…" Max was crying now, clutching her chest and wondering if the pain she felt there would ever go away._

"_Please leave, Max. I think I've talked enough for one night. I don't think I'll have any words left after this."_

_She let out a loud keening that nearly shattered his heart all over again._

"_Please don't do this, Fang. I need you!"_

"_Obviously not enough," he said as he picked up the lonely candle and blew it out. Now the only illumination came from the full moon outside. He placed the candle back down and left Max sobbing. He walked all the way to the other end of the long beach and sat, watching the water and the moon and specifically not thinking about the beautiful girl he'd just left._

_He'd trusted her. But perhaps she needed to trust herself as well._

**

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**

Fang looked up from his musing to see a figure standing at the entrance of the cave. The girl was looking at him with shock and mortification. She was soaked through and trembling.

"Max?" he asked, staring at the beautiful girl before him.

**

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**A/N: Have you ever trusted somebody you shouldn't have? **


	5. Deep Discussion

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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Chapter Five – Deep Discussion

**Max's POV**

"Max?" Fang asked, staring at her with wide eyes.

She shivered.

"You're shirtless!" she squeaked unthinkingly.

He smirked and raised a brow at her. She swallowed.

"I think we need to talk," she explained as another shiver wracked her body.

Fang gathered the thin blanket covering the mattress and approached her. He swiftly draped the blanket across her shoulders to try and lend her some warmth. She gripped the offering with tight fists and followed as he led her to the only chair in the cave. He sat down on the mattress and stared at her, presumably waiting for her to speak.

She took a deep breath and waited for her shivering to subside. She took in his shirtless figure and gulped, wondering how exactly he'd gotten such a good figure. The last time she'd been in this cave, he'd been skinny with only a bit of definition to his muscles. Now, he had the type of body she'd always appreciated. He was lean with ropey muscles, but not skinny and not too buff. She licked her lips to try and distract herself.

Similarly, Fang seemed to be staring at her leg – the one that wasn't covered by the blanket. She peered down at herself and blushed when she realised that her dress had ridden up and she was showing quite a bit of skin. She quickly yanked the fabric down and averted her gaze from Fang's.

She swallowed and cleared her throat, preparing to speak.

"I wanted to ask you something about that time in the cave…" she finally said.

He quirked a brow at her: willing her to go on.

She quickly changed her mind. "Actually, I think I should ask you something else. Um…I know that you've made your ideas about our friendship clear, but… I was wondering if we could be friends again. I keep trying to picture myself as some perfect lady, but I can't picture myself in a world without you. Can't we at least be friends - or maybe acquaintances?"

He looked at her for a long time. She began to fidget in her seat before he finally decided to speak.

"I don't want to be your friend."

She gasped; feeling like a knife just pierced her through the heart. She hadn't actually believed that he wouldn't w_ant _to be her friend. "Oh…okay," she managed to say.

He studied her for another moment, and then sighed. "Max, I thought I made this clear two years ago. I don't want to be your friend. I want to be something more."

"Oh! _Ooooohhhh_."

He smirked and she felt her cheeks turn bright red. She wondered how much it had cost him to admit that out loud. She knew how much he hated sharing his emotions and feelings. It was like this place had given both of them the strength to be the people they wanted to be.

"Two years ago, you told me that we couldn't be together because of your parents. Is that still what you believe?" he asked after a moment of silence.

She blanched, not at all ready for that question.

"Two years ago I would've punched anyone –other than you, I suppose – that tried to make a move on me," she said with a self-depreciating smile.

He grinned, lighting up the cave. "I know. I liked that about you," he admitted. She wondered if he was feeling alright. He seemed to be saying a lot of things he wouldn't usually say.

"Well, my parents didn't. They sent me away to a private school that remade my whole personality for me. I don't even know where to start to even try and be anything like what I used to be. The things I've learnt…I can't just throw that behaviour away. I'll need it if I'm ever going to take over my father's company."

"You're actually going to take over the company?" Fang asked. She could read the surprise in his eyes. "I thought you would end up doing something more…free spirited, I suppose."

"Business is a challenge, that's why I like it. I want to show everyone that I _can_ do it. I'm going to prove that I can be a good leader."

He smiled and she flinched in surprise. It wasn't a smirk and it wasn't a grin. He'd actually just smiled a real smile at her.

"I think you'd make a great leader. But how does being a lady tie in with that? I didn't think being polite would really give you the upper hand to being a business leader."

She froze, staring at him. She would have to be cunning, smart and ruthless to run a business. She would definitely not have to be a demure little flower that let men trample all over her. This realisation shouldn't have come as a shock to her. She should have figured this out a long time ago. But she'd never thought of it. Actually, she'd never been given the chance to think about it. Sure, she'd watched her father in action, but her mother would always monopolise her attention afterwards. Val had never believed that Max would take over her father's business.

"Oh. My. God."

Her eyes widened and she looked at Fang as the realisation crashed over her like a gigantic wave. She bit her bottom lip in thought and then said something she'd never considered before. "My mother has sabotaged me! She doesn't want me to take over the company! She's…she's instilled all these values into me that are the exact opposite of what I will need to succeed. Why would she do that?" Max gasped out.

Fang stood up and kneeled in front of her chair, placing a reassuring hand on her knee. "Max, she has manipulated you. She doesn't want to lose her only daughter to the same business she lost your father to. Think about it – you will be busy and independent. You won't need her anymore. I think she might just want you to stay her little girl forever. She's set you up to fail. Maybe she believes that your future husband should run the company. I'm not going to presume that I know what your mother is thinking, but it's obvious that she has done this on purpose."

"I can't believe I've been so blind!" Max cried.

Fang's hand on her knee was doing weird things to her insides. But she pushed those thoughts away as she tried to figure out what she was going to do for her future.

"Is your heart really set on running your father's businesses?" Fang asked.

She nodded.

"Then you'll just have to relearn how to be a leader," he said.

She studied him. "Will you teach me? Will you show me how to be a good leader?"

His eyebrows raised in surprise before he quickly wiped all emotion from his face. "I can try and help you. But I think this is something you'll have to learn on your own."

"But will you point me in the right direction?" she asked, feeling flustered and more emotional than she had in a long time.

"I can try," he finally said.

"I'm not going to let my mother dictate my life. I'm going to take charge. I'll talk to my parents later, but I might need your help with Lissa."

"Lissa?"

"She's going to start trying to control me very soon. I don't particularly want to be Queen Bee or whatever you want to call it. But I figure this is a good chance to practise the skills I may need in the future. Plus, she brought this on herself. If she thinks she can win, she's sorely mistaken."

Fang laughed and her heart filled with an unknown emotion. "It sounds like war. I don't know how much help I'll be," he admitted.

She grinned. "But Fang, you're a vital player."

He frowned. "What?"

"Don't you know?" she asked bitterly. "Lissa wants you as a boyfriend. Something about how she wants you as her trophy. I'm not even going to try and understand her twisted girl mind."

Fang was silent for a moment, studying her. "Why are you so upset?"

She swallowed convulsively. "Well, I was going to ask you a question about two years ago…"

"Shoot."

"Well, um…was that the first time – I mean, were you with…" She couldn't finish.

"Was that the first time I'd done that with someone?" he asked for her.

She nodded.

"Max, I'd never done that with a girl before you," he said, looking into her eyes.

"Okay," she said.

"Why? What's going on?" he asked.

"I just heard a rumour, is all."

He was silent.

"This girl told me that you don't date and that you only…um…sleep with girls that don't want any attachments."

He shrugged. "I'm not a virgin, if that's what you're asking."

"Oh, um, okay," she said, feeling like she was back-pedalling on her mission to be a leader. She tensed her muscles and straightened her spine. She was changing, as of now.

"It seems like a pretty low thing to do, if you ask me," she said bravely.

"Well, I have needs, okay? I wasn't going to wait around for you," he said in a voice she couldn't recognise.

"So, what: you didn't get lucky with me so you decided to find the next available girl?" she spat.

He shrugged, not looking at her.

"You're lying!" she accused.

"Max, you made it clear you didn't want to be with me. And no, I didn't go looking for some girl to fuck. But when the opportunity presented itself, I wasn't really going to refuse."

"You're a real bastard, you know that?" Max yelled, standing up and breaking any contact with Fang. She walked across the cave, fuming.

"What? It's not like you're still a virgin!" he yelled.

She turned to him in disbelief. He was losing control of himself, she could see. She wondered how often Fang had unravelled before and guessed it had only been twice – both times in front of her. Her expression cooled when she saw the emotions flashing across his face.

"I am a virgin, actually," she said very quietly.

His expression shattered at her words. She would give anything to know what he was thinking just then, but knew it was impossible. Fang's mind was impenetrable. She only got glimpses of it through his dark eyes.

Fang bowed his head and hid his face from her. She watched him, forcing herself to be indifferent.

"I don't believe in mindless sex," she said after a long time.

Fang made a strangled sound and she felt her heart constrict. She'd never seen him like this. It was scaring her.

"I'm glad I didn't give my virginity to you two years ago," she lied. "I didn't know that you only thought of sex as meaningless. I thought maybe it would have been special with you. Obviously, I was wrong."

"Max," he said as he stood up and walked over to her. He'd managed to get himself together, she noticed. She marvelled at how quickly he'd slid his shield into place. "Sex will always be meaningful with you. I have no doubt that when you do make love; it'll be just that – making love. Any man would be lucky to be with you." He placed his palm against her face and peered deep into her eyes.

Slowly, he leant forward and placed a chaste kiss against her lips. Quickly, the kiss escalated as Fang wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. She gasped and succumbed to his fervent kisses, wondering how she'd lasted so long without them. Her hands travelled his defined chest and then she finally came to her senses.

Was he just saying those things to get in her pants? With the new information she'd just found out about him, she couldn't trust him with anything to do with sex. She pushed him away from her, lamenting the loss of his warmth and his passion. Then, she slapped him.

He moved his jaw, testing it, and finally looked at her.

"I'm not going to be another notch on your belt, Fang. That job can be left to Julia. She's the one who wants uncomplicated sex."

He stayed silent, watching her closely.

"Our relationship is going to be strictly business. You're going to help me be the girl I used to be. If you want something _reasonable_ in return, then you can let me know. Otherwise, I'll see you at school."

With that, she dropped the blanket that was still wrapped around her and left Fang, still shirtless; in the exact same spot he'd left her two years ago.

"Max, wait!" he called out after her. She stopped and waited.

"Why did you leave?"

"Val caught me when I came home. She could tell just by looking at me that I'd been with you. My lips were still swollen, after all. She made me tell her everything. That's when she decided that it was too much of a risk for me to stay anywhere near you. So we moved. I'm really sorry that I didn't say goodbye, but I guess you had already said goodbye to me."

She didn't wait to hear his reply. Instead, she kept walking without looking back once. She didn't even notice when the rain soaked her through yet again.

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**A/N: What's the most uncomfortable conversation you've ever had? **


	6. Same Game

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride**

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Chapter Six – Same Game

**Fang's POV**

Fang had always been careful about the things he said. But he'd gone and practically proven to Max that he thought sex was meaningless. He'd told her the truth about other things, but as soon as the issue of his sexual partners had popped up, he'd been a complete bastard. He had wanted to tell her that he had been waiting for her. He'd wanted to say that he didn't date because the only person he wanted to be with was her. He wanted to say that the first girl he'd slept with had practically raped him and that things had gone downhill from there. He'd needed a way to take out his frustrations and found that sex worked quite well, especially when he was frustrated with the lack of Max in his life.

Now, he'd screwed everything up.

She was a virgin! How was he supposed to know that she'd saved herself? If it would have changed anything, he would have saved himself as well. He'd wanted to, that was for sure. He couldn't think of anyone else he'd wanted to make love to. But Brigit had been so demanding and he was a teenage boy. How was he supposed to refuse? And then he'd gotten this notion into his head that there was no way Max would stay a virgin for long. She was beautiful and smart and funny. She would have a million suitors wherever she was. So he'd let himself go down the road to his own self-destruction.

He should have just told her the truth. But now he'd gone and made himself look like a bastard that didn't think of sex as meaningful. Well, it was partially true. The only sex he could think of being meaningful was sex with Max. But he'd never know; she'd made herself clear about that.

But that wasn't the thing that had him so angry with himself. He didn't just want sex with Max - far from it. He wanted everything to do with her. He wanted to wake up with her. He wanted to listen to her talk for hours. He wanted to be the one she came to when she was in trouble or when she needed someone. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to spend the day with her. Hell, he just wanted to know her.

God, he sounded like a complete idiot. He knew that he would never say any of this out loud.

He'd completely broken down in front of her last night. She'd told him that she was a virgin and he had realised that she just _might_ have been saving herself for him. It was a ridiculous thought, but he couldn't get it out of his head. What if she'd waited for him? He had wanted to wait for her, but he hadn't. That's what really got to him.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His life was so screwed.

He finally convinced himself to get out of his car and enter the school grounds. He'd been debating whether to go to school today - or skip - for half an hour. Finally, he decided that he would try and set things straight, even if it just meant helping Max out.

When he arrived at the usual space that he and Iggy occupied in the morning, he was surprised to see Max chatting with Iggy. They looked like they were getting along great and Fang couldn't help the stab of jealousy he felt pierce his heart.

"Fang!" Iggy said with a grin. His huge glasses glinted in the sun. Anyone would think the guy was blind – his glasses were that big! But he only had to wear them when he was reading. By the look of the textbook in his pale hand, he'd been studying (nerd!) before Max had come along.

"Hey," Fang said by way of greeting as he leant against the brick wall next to Max.

She smiled at him and he knew that she was going to pretend the kiss they'd shared last night had never happened. He made sure his emotions didn't show on his face and decided that he didn't really have a choice but to follow her lead.

"What happened to your eye?" Iggy asked.

Fang shrugged. "Fight." The skin was still tender to touch, which was understandable. He hoped everyone just ignored him today.

Iggy frowned, but didn't say anything.

"Iggy was just telling me about his date last night. Sounds like they hit it off," Max supplied after a moment's silence.

He forced himself to stop thinking about last night and turned to Iggy. He also had to force down the weird feelings he was having about their old friendship group suddenly being together again – minus Nudge.

"It was pretty nice. You know," Iggy said with a shrug, obviously trying to downplay it.

"You going soft?" Fang asked with a teasing tone to his voice.

Iggy blushed.

"I think it's sweet. It's certainly more healthy than any relationship you ever have," Max stated.

He looked at her. So she was going to play dirty? Two could play that game.

Lowering his voice so that only she could hear, he said, "At least I have relationships."

Max's eyebrows slammed into a frown. She glared at him and he was pleased by her reaction. At least she was trying to act like her old self. After all, that was the whole point of their re-kindled 'friendship'.

"Fang, I said I haven't had sex, not that I haven't had a relationship," she told him, voice low and sultry. He swallowed at the new tone to her voice. He could've sworn she was trying to be sexy. Maybe she was practising for her stupid plan to take down Lissa. He tried not to focus on the fact that she _was _very sexy indeed.

Her uniform – white blouse with a navy skirt – actually complimented her in a way that it was uncomplimentary for all the other girls at school. Her skirt was a bit shorter than he remembered it being the previous week, showing off her gloriously long legs. She'd done something different to her hair – piling it on her head in an amazingly sexy and rumpled way. Her tie was loose around her neck and her glossy lips shined in the morning sun. He stared at her lips for a moment, wondering what her lip gloss would taste like, before he remembered that they'd been talking.

He smirked and decided that the best conversations were silent. So he locked his gaze on hers before he made a show of looking over her entire body, pausing at her legs. When he made it back up to her face, he stared at her lips for good measure. Finally, he met her gaze again and raised an eyebrow at her. Like he suspected, she was flushed all over, adding a nice colour to her cheeks. He decided that he wasn't going to make this 'business arrangement' easy for her. If she didn't want him, so be it. But he was going to make it damn obvious that he wanted her.

"Okay, what the hell is going on between you two?" Iggy demanded, drawing their attention.

He grinned and shrugged, feeling uncharacteristically sheepish.

Iggy's eyes narrowed.

"He's going to help me take down Lissa. You in?" Max asked, ignoring Fang completely.

Iggy laughed and grinned. "Can I blow something up?" he asked, always up for some mischief.

Max cracked a smile. "Maybe."

"Count me in," he said.

Max seemed relieved and Fang nearly chuckled. He was wondering what he could do to make the tension between them even stronger. He was beginning to think that this would be fun.

"So, what's the plan?" Iggy asked.

Max bit her lip in thought. "Well, she hasn't started her attack on me yet, but I have it on good authority that it will start very soon. I think she'll be surprised when I can take whatever she's going to throw at me. We'll meet back here this arvo after school? Then we can go over the plan."

"Okay," Iggy agreed, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "But why don't you just hang out with me and Fang and not worry about this whole mess?"

"Because, this is personal," Max muttered.

Iggy grinned.

"Okay, I'll catch you guys later," Max said with a wave. Then, she was disappearing into the crowd of milling students.

Fang noticed that they'd been getting quite a bit of attention from the sheep surrounding them. Students were eyeing him like he held all the answers to the universe. He knew that hanging out with Max was going to draw some attention, but he didn't think it would be so obvious straight away. He sighed and accepted his fate. From now on, he was a player in this weird game going on between Max and Lissa. He just hoped he didn't screw up. He owed Max as much.

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Fang decided that since he was already going to be getting unwanted attention, that he might as well embrace it. So, for the first time in a long time, he ate lunch in the cafeteria. He chose a table closest to Max's and sat back to enjoy the show. He smiled to himself when he realised that all the tables near his were empty. So, people were still scared of him. At least he wasn't going completely soft.

Lissa, Julia, Kathy and some girl Fang had never seen before – although it was obvious she was a freshman – sat down at the middle table first. The freshman had blonde hair shaped in perfect curls and was pretty in a doll-like way. He wondered what she was doing with the ruthless Lissa and the slutty Julia.

The Worthington twins arrived soon after, joining the table and starting a conversation about God knows what. He didn't think that the twins would have enough brains to even make a complete sentence.

Fang was surprised when Nudge bypassed the middle table and walked over to him directly. He sighed inwardly as she sat down across from him with a glare on her face.

"Yes?" he asked.

"What the hell are you doing? _Everyone _is talking about you. Where's Iggy, anyway?" she demanded.

Fang repressed a smile. "Iggy's with his girlfriend."

Nudge blanched. "He has a girlfriend?" Her voice was smaller than usual and she definitely looked hurt. Or maybe it was surprised.

"Yeah, as of last night. I think he really likes her," Fang said, gauging her reaction, knowing that Iggy was going to pester him about it as soon as he found out.

"Oh," was all she said in a very uncharacteristic way. Usually, she could never shut up; although, she had learned to control herself over the last few years.

"Nudge," he started, hating the fact that he was suddenly the middleman between her and Iggy. "If you like him, you should tell him."

"I don't like him!" she exclaimed.

Fang sighed. "Fine. Whatever. I'm not good at this whole thing anyway."

Nudge sank into her chair. "Why are you here, anyway?" she asked.

"I got sick of eating outside. Thought I'd shake things up."

"Sure," she said, disbelieving.

His eyes shifted to the table behind Nudge, but Max hadn't shown up yet. His attention returned to Nudge and he tried to tune in to what she was talking about. Luckily, it was just mindless chatter. Anyone would think that she was nervous. Perhaps she was thinking of Iggy and Ella.

The chair next to him moved and he glanced up to see Max plop into it. He was surprised and immediately looked over to the middle table to see their reaction. He found that the middle table – and everyone else in the room – were staring at them.

"I need Lissa to know that I'm friends with you," she whispered as she made herself comfortable. She smiled at Nudge, who had stopped ranting in the middle of a sentence, and then leaned closer to him. He had to remind himself that she was just using him. He hated his hands at that moment for wanting to reach out and touch her.

He couldn't help himself: he leaned towards her and breathed in her scent. He smirked when he heard her breathing hitch and gently touched her leg under the table. She jumped. He was impressed when she didn't glare at him. Instead, she smiled and laughed flirtatiously. He blinked.

She leaned toward him until her mouth was against his ear. "Wish me luck," she whispered as she stood up and made her way over to the middle table. He watched her hopelessly, wondering when she'd decided to play the same game as him.

"What. The. Hell."

"Nudge, mind your own business," he said as he leaned back in his chair and finally began to eat his lunch.

She gaped at him, and then smiled.

"I'll mind my own business. But only because I have faith that you and Max will eventually realise you were made for each other."

He ignored her.

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**A/N: Who do you think is going to win this game of seduction between Max and Fang? The rules aren't really clear, but it's fun all the same. ;-)**


	7. Waging War

**A/N: I'd like to say thank you to all my reviewers for your support. Every author loves feedback, so keep it coming. :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride**

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Chapter Seven – Waging War

_**Recap:**_

_He couldn't help himself: he leaned towards her and breathed in her scent. He smirked when he heard her breathing hitch and gently touched her leg under the table. She jumped. He was impressed when she didn't glare at him. Instead, she smiled and laughed flirtatiously. He blinked. _

_She leaned toward him until her mouth was against his ear. "Wish me luck," she whispered as she stood up and made her way over to the middle table. He watched her hopelessly, wondering when she'd decided to play the same game as him._

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Max's POV

That bastard was trying to play her! Well, two could play that game. It worked to her advantage, anyway. If Lissa thought that there was something going on between Fang and her, then she might just win this war. After all, it was no secret that Lissa was after Fang. It was no secret that the entire school was after Fang!

"Max," Lissa greeted with forced cheer as she approached the table. "I had no idea you were friends with Fang."

"Really? Well, we were best friends before I moved. We just got reacquainted properly the other day," she said, intentionally being vague.

Julia grinned and Max couldn't help but wonder if Julia knew exactly what she was up to.

"Max, this is Angel," Julia said, introducing the young girl at the table. Max smiled at her, wondering who she was.

She took a seat and eyed Angel carefully, wondering if she was another player to be factored into their little game. The girl was pretty - in a young sense. She had blonde curls and a bright smile. But there was also something unsettling about her.

"I found Angel showing some of her…friends...who was in charge. So I decided that I would take her under my wing," Lissa said, as if this was a great honour. Max resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"How nice. Angel, you must feel so privileged," Max said, not trying to hide the sarcastic nature of her words.

"I do, actually," Angel said with an –dare she say it? – angelic smile.

Max's mouth set into a hard line. So, Angel was one of _those._

"Maybe you two deserve to be together," she mumbled, aware that they could both hear her clearly.

"So, Max, the party was pretty good, right?" Sam said, picking up on the tension between them and offering a subtle distraction.

"I had _lots_ of fun," Julia offered with a glint in her eye.

"Kurt, huh?" Max asked, amused.

Julia winked.

"Why wasn't Fang there?" Lissa asked, tapping her acrylic nails on the tabletop. "I mean, you guys used to be friends, right?" She smiled, her eyes holding malicious intent.

"He was busy," Max said, giving her a 'so-what' look.

"Well, maybe you should invite him to eat lunch with us tomorrow," Lissa said, her acrylic nails clicking. Max gritted her teeth at the sound.

"I don't think he likes you very much," Max said with a shrug.

Lissa's glossy mouth popped open in a small 'o' shape. Max suppressed a grin at the uncharacteristic show of surprise.

"What?" Her nails stopped clicking, much to Max's relief.

"He doesn't like you. I don't think he would like to sit near you for very long," Max explained.

"What's gotten into you?" Lissa asked, her perfectly plucked eyebrows meeting.

"I don't like being controlled," she offered.

Lissa's eyes lightened in understanding. Her mouth smoothed out and her posture relaxed. It seemed that Lissa was very familiar with this kind of combative behaviour. It always turned out to be an act in the end. Lissa always won the game. Little did she know, Max wasn't an actress.

"What makes you think Fang doesn't like me? We used to be _very _close. If you know what I mean," Lissa said, biting her bottom lip suggestively.

Max paused; caught off guard.

"He makes the _best_ sound when I suck on his neck. He especially likes it when I run my nails down his back."

Max felt sick. She imagined Lissa's long acrylic nails digging into Fang's flesh and winced. Ouch.

"He told me about you once: about how you wouldn't put out for him. I thought you must have been crazy. He said he only wanted you for one thing."

Silence reigned for a solid minute as the two stared each other down. How would she know that? Had the story bout why she moved gotten out? Max shuffled through her memories of Fang, searching for a grain of truth. But she couldn't find anything that backed up Lissa's story. All she could think about were Fang's eyes as they peered into her soul. He wouldn't do that to her…right?

For now, she concluded that the whole thing was just a story. It didn't matter anyway, because she was only playing a game with Fang. They would never actually be _together. _

"If you're such good friends with him, why don't you invite him to eat lunch with us yourself?" Max asked, expression stoic.

Lissa's mouth opened, and then closed.

Max raised her eyebrows in victory.

Lissa's nails started clicking again, this time in irritation.

"I want you to get Fang to eat lunch with us. If you refuse, you'll suffer the consequences," Lissa gritted out through her teeth.

"Bring it, bitch," Max said as she stood from her seat.

Lissa rose as well, seething. "_What_ did you just say?" she shrieked.

"I called you a bitch," Max said.

"You've just made your bed. Don't come crying to me when you can't handle what I dish out."

"Ooh, I'm scared," Max mocked.

"You should be," Lissa hissed.

Max grinned. _I'm a born leader_, she thought to herself. She could do this. She would take down the bitch and prove that she could handle anything the business world threw at her. She hadn't planned on out-right fighting with Lissa, but after she'd said those things about Fang, she couldn't just stand by and do things _quietly._ She wasn't that type of person. No, she preferred up-front confrontations. She smiled to herself when she realised that she'd found part of herself when she'd engaged in this thing with Lissa. She still had more of herself to discover, however.

"This is war, you brat!" Lissa screeched.

Max's mouth twitched into a smile. She was aware of the staring peers around them. She was aware of the silent presence at the other table, watching her intensely. She felt a weird sense of happiness when she realised that Fang was ready to step in if things got out of her control. He was looking out for her, just like he used to when they were best friends.

Max leaned across the table so that she was in Lissa's personal space.

"Fang doesn't make a noise when you suck on his neck," she said softly. "It's the lack of sound that is so sensual."

Lissa's face paled.

Max stood up straight and gave one last smile of victory before she turned around and walked away. She didn't want to be friends with people like Lissa. She wanted to be friends with people like Fang, Iggy and Nudge.

Fang met her eyes with a silent query. She nodded her head slightly and he was standing up immediately, leaving Nudge in the middle of a sentence. He was by her side right away. She felt comforted by his presence.

When they were out of the cafeteria; Max let out her breath. Fang studied her silently, then took her hand and started leading her through the school. As they walked, she could see less and less people. Finally, he pulled her around a corner into a totally secluded area between two buildings. Cigarette butts littered the floor and an ugly red crate was turned upside down to act as a seat. She slumped down onto the crate as Fang leant against the wall.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"I like to come here to think," he replied. "No one else comes here."

There was silence for a few moments.

"You smoke, right?"

"I'm quitting," he replied sheepishly. "I have one left. I'm saving it."

"For what?" she asked.

He shrugged.

She picked up a blade of grass and twirled it in her fingers. Overhead, the bell for class rang. They ignored it.

"So, what happened in there?" Fang asked.

"She asked me to invite you to eat with us tomorrow. I said no. Then she went on about how you know each other _really_ well. Really Fang: _her?_"Max sneered.

"She kissed me once in tenth grade, if that's what you're talking about," he replied with an amused smirk.

Max snorted. She knew that bitch was full of shit. But then she felt a sick feeling in her stomach when she thought of Fang and Lissa kissing. Did he like kissing the Rich Bitch? Well, obviously something hadn't gone right between them, otherwise he wouldn't hate her and she wouldn't be so desperate to date him.

"So, what did you say about that?" Fang questioned.

"I said that if she knew you so well, then she should ask you to eat with us herself."

Fang laughed.

"So, naturally, she ordered me to do as she asked or I'd pay. So I told her to 'bring it, bitch'. That's when she declared war," Max said, quite amused with the whole ordeal. It was so clichéd and predictable that she couldn't even believe she was participating in something so trivial.

But then she thought of Lissa and Fang together and she knew that she wouldn't let that happen.

"Am I missing something?" he asked, studying her expression closely.

"She just said some things about you," Max said with a shrug. It wasn't any of her business if they actually _had _slept together. It wasn't like he had cheated on anyone. In fact, his personal life wasn't really any of her business.

"Like what?"

Max smiled slightly. "She said you make the _best_ sound when she sucked on your neck," Max mocked.

Fang raised his eyebrows.

"I told her you don't make a noise when someone sucks on your neck. I mentioned something about how the lack of sound is more sensual." Max's cheeks turned pink and she avoided meeting Fang's gaze.

He burst out laughing, making her relax instantly. Really, the whole thing had been stupid. She could barely believe that she was fighting over him with some crazy bitch. She joined in with him, revelling how light-hearted his laughter made her.

"You should have seen the look on her face," Max gasped out.

"I think I did. Is that when she went really pale?"

Max nodded. They started laughing all over again.

Max sighed and leant against the brick wall behind her. She wasn't used to a laughing Fang. She wished she was. His relaxed nature was making her feel very relaxed.

_He told me about you once: about how you wouldn't put out for him. I thought you must have been crazy. He said he only wanted you for one thing. _The words floated into her head quite unexpectedly, causing her to tense.

"Is there something else she said?" Fang asked softly, reading her mood like an open book.

"Nah," she said, biting her lip.

"Max," Fang said sternly, not believing her for a second.

"It doesn't matter anyway."

Fang silently watched her, waiting for her to give in.

She blew out her breath, causing her bangs to flutter about her face.

"She said that you only wanted one thing from me. Apparently I wouldn't put out for you and you told her."

Fang tensed and his eye turned incredibly dark. "She said what?" His voice was a deadly growl and if she hadn't known him so well, it would have scared her.

"It's stupid, right," she offered, trying to quench the nervous feeling she had in her gut. How else would Lissa have known about what happened in the cave unless he'd told her?

"Max, you know that's a lie, right? I would never think that about you, nor would I tell _her _anything about our relationship as friends…or more. She's just jealous because I care for you and I hate her."

"You care about me?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Of course. You're one of my best friends. I've known you my whole life. Of course I care about you," he said quickly.

She smiled. "Thanks Fang. I know you don't usually talk about your feelings or whatever."

"If it will make you feel better, of course I'll talk about my feelings."

"I appreciate it," she said, forcing a cheerful smile.

He ruffled her hair, causing her to scrunch her face up in dislike. "I don't, however, appreciate that," she admonished with a small grin.

His lips twitched as he held back a smile. "C'mon, I'll walk you to class and make up some excuse as to why you're late," he said, taking her hand and leading her away from his little haven.

She grinned. "Imagine the look on Lissa's face," she said evilly.

He chuckled.

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**A/N: Who's the 'Queen Bee' at your school/ in your friendship group? **


	8. Might Bite

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm a first year uni student this year, so I'm trying to get my bearings. But you don't want to hear about me, you want to read my story (hopefully)...**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride. **

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Chapter Eight – Might Bite

**Fang's POV**

Fang, Iggy and Max had met after school that day to talk about their mission. Iggy had come up with the inventive name of 'Mission: Kill Nasty Rich Bitch'. Max had opted to forgo a name for now. She thought that 'Kill Nasty Rich Bitch' was too conspicuous. And rightly so. They'd decided to be defensive for the time being. They were waiting for Lissa to initiate something.

The meeting was short and they all went their different ways when it finished. Iggy had a date with Ella, Max had to get home and do something with her mother, and he had to go to work.

"Fang?" Theo, the manager of Burger Fervour, asked as Fang entered. The big man looked angry and Fang's guard was immediately up.

"Hey," Fang greeted casually. He hadn't worked since he'd punched Sam, so he wondered if he was about to get in trouble.

"Can I speak to you in my office?" Theo asked. The tiny office was mainly for show. Theo hardly used it and it was basically just a place to dump the paperwork.

Theo took a seat at the desk and Fang stood across from him. There was only one seat in the untidy office.

"You upset quite a few people when you punched that young boy the other day. I can't let you go unpunished for the assault you committed. You're lucky that the young man didn't press charges."

Fang stayed silent.

"I don't think I can keep you on, son. You've been a great employee, but I can't tolerate any violence in my business. I'll have to let you go."

Fang swallowed. "Sir, I don't think you understand how much I need this job," Fang said, hating the pleading tone in his voice.

"You should have thought of that before you entered a brawl."

Fang felt crushed. It had taken him so long to get this job that he didn't think he could go anywhere else. Everyone knew his family's reputation and no one wanted anything to do with him. What was he going to do when his money ran out?

"Sorry, son. I'm sure you'll find somewhere else to work." There was doubt in Theo's eyes and Fang knew that it was going to be extremely hard to find honest work after this transgression.

Fang didn't say anything as he stood and exited the small office. He ignored the looks everyone was giving him as he left his former place of employment.

He drove home, thinking murderous thoughts about Samuel Worthington. When he pulled into the driveway he wasn't surprised to see his father's car wasn't there. He was surprised, however, to find things missing from the house. The only thing left in the house was the furniture. All the little trinkets his mother collected were gone.

He searched the office and found the room empty except for the big ugly desk and chair. His parent's bedroom was devoid of everything worth taking. At first, he thought they'd been mugged, but his room was exactly the same as he'd left it.

When he returned to the kitchen, he found a note stuck the fridge. In clear writing that was clearly his mother's, the note read:

_We decided it was time to move away. We've moved some money into your bank account to keep you going for the moment, but we think you're old enough to look after yourself. Have a good life. _

_-Rex and Roxy. _

Fang stared at the note for a long time, trying to comprehend it. His parents had decided to ditch him on the same day he got fired. He ran to the ancient computer that was in his room and booted it up. After it had taken a year to load, he finally checked his bank account. They'd given him five hundred dollars! He had to live off five hundred dollars? His father was worth hundreds of thousands! He sighed. He was royally screwed. Without a job, five hundred bucks wasn't going to last very long.

He gritted his teeth and set about typing out a new resume. He was going to have to find a new job. He couldn't even afford to be picky.

He spent the rest of the afternoon printing off resumes and delivering them to every possible place he could think of. When he'd depleted his stack of resumes (and paper for his printer) he made his way home. A ham sandwich sufficed as his dinner before he retreated to his room to wallow in his misery. He found his last cigarette and twirled it in his fingers. If he finished it off now, would it make him feel better? Would anything make him feel better?

He lit it up and inhaled the sweet smoke. Changing his mind, he quickly put it out. With shaking hands, he carefully placed it back into the packet, as if it would fall apart at any second. He spent another half an hour staring at the packet and fighting his urge to smoke. Finally, he fell into bed and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.

Why did the world constantly bite him in the ass?

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The next day wasn't any better. After waking up with a splitting headache and finding that the bread had gone mouldy, he knew he was in for a rough week. He couldn't even make toast for breakfast! Instead, he found an apple that looked like it had already started to decompose. He ate it anyway, wishing he could have smoked his way through an entire packet of cigarettes instead. He couldn't even remember why his was quitting. Something about his health?

To make his day even better, it was pouring down rain and his car was nearly out of fuel. He had to stop at a station and fill the tank up, which ate through a chunk of his savings. But it was either that or walk for forty minutes in the pouring rain. He wasn't quite up for being miserable _and _wet just yet.

When he finally managed to get to school, he found Max and Iggy hanging out on the steps to the school, semi dry and happy. Max was eating something warm and toasted for breakfast that he couldn't help drooling over. He didn't really want to admit to himself that he was partly drooling over Max as well.

She was pure torture; that was sure. Her hair was curly from the weather and completely gorgeous. He tried not to focus on her shirt or the fact that she was wearing a black bra when it was pouring down rain. From the way she was acting, he assumed that she didn't know her shirt had gone see-through.

"I'm stuffed," she said as he arrived, completely wet despite driving to school. Maybe he should have just walked. "Do you want the rest?" She offered him the toasted wrap in her hand with a smile that made her face light up. He considered turning down her food, but then remembered he was starving and probably not going to eat all day. With a casual shrug he took the meal from her and took a huge bite. The taste of proper food almost sent him over the edge. It felt so good to eat something that wasn't stale or something from the back of his fridge.

"So, we think Lissa is going to bide her time. There have been no rumours of any plans to do with Max just yet," Iggy announced.

"Can we talk about something else?" Fang asked; sick of hearing about some petty plan that he was somehow involved in. His mood was going in all different directions. He didn't know if he could hide these emotions from his friend and the girl that set out to torture him.

"What's up with you?" Iggy asked, real concern in his eyes.

"Nothing," he said in a tone that clearly told them something was up.

"Dude, you okay?" Iggy probed. Fang finished off the last of his toasted breakfast and felt pity for himself. His life was pathetic, and now he felt pathetic.

Fang abruptly turned his back on his best friend and headed back out into the rain. He couldn't keep himself together for much longer, and he didn't want to let his emotions loose on his friends. Or friend. He wasn't sure if Max was really his friend or not.

He could hear them talking about him as he walked into the rain. He wondered who would follow him, knowing that neither of them could leave well enough alone.

He reached his smoking spot, which was thankfully covered from the rain, and leant against the wall. He pulled his only cigarette out and placed it in his mouth, but didn't light it. He waited, and sure enough, Max appeared around the corner.

"When someone leaves, they generally don't want to be followed," he said, just to strike out at her.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded, hand on her hips.

He decided he really needed a smoke. His trusty lighter lit the tip and he inhaled, determined not to let her judging eyes get to him.

"It must be pretty bad if you're using your last cig," Max said, stepping closer and losing all of her fight. She leant against the wall next to him and let out a big breath.

"It doesn't concern you," he said, taking a long drag and holding the smoke in. Slowly, he let it escape his mouth. It kind of felt like he was expelling all of his emotions out with the smoke, but he knew that wasn't true. His emotions never left him – they were just suppressed and locked away. One day, he knew they would all find their way out at the same time. He wasn't looking forward to that.

"You can tell me, you know. I'm still your friend," Max said.

"Really? Last I checked; we were 'strictly business'."

She stiffened and he felt bad for attacking her.

"Okay. I'll leave," she said, straightening up and walking away from him.

Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him.

"I'm sorry," he said, eyes downcast. "I'm being a prick. I've just been having a rough time. I shouldn't take it out on you."

She stared at him and gently put her hand against his forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever, but something must be wrong for you to actually apologise," she murmured.

He laughed, which surprised both of them.

With a sigh, she placed her hands on either side of his face and looked him in the eyes. She was even more beautiful up close. Her skin was glowing and her hair was messy from the rain. Her lips were the perfect shade of pink. Was it so wrong of him to want to kiss her?

"I'll always be here for you," she said.

For a moment, they were quiet. He knew that she was thinking about the time she _hadn't_ been there for him. The melancholy on her face was enough to drive him crazy. She shouldn't have to feel bad about something her parents forced her to do.

He smoothed her tangled hair with both of his hands and gave her a smirk. "I know."

Then he kissed her.

She didn't react as he placed a chaste kiss on her sweet lips. He lingered against her lips for a moment before he pulled away. He knew that she wouldn't return the kiss, but he felt the need to do it anyway.

She looked at him for a long moment, studying his features. He desperately wanted to know what she was thinking at that exact moment.

She placed her lips against his ear and he felt her warm breath on his neck.

"This doesn't mean anything, okay? You just look sad."

Before he could ask her what she meant, she was kissing him. Really kissing him. For a moment, he didn't react, and then he smiled against her lips and kissed her back. She was trying to make him feel better.

His hands went to her waist as one of hers went into his hair and the other grabbed onto the front of his shirt. He pulled her flush against him and hoped that she wouldn't get scared and pull away. Instead, she pushed her tongue into his mouth and started to explore. He was surprised, to say the least, but didn't hesitate to go along with her.

Soon, he was pushing her up against the wall. Her leg hitched around his waist seemingly of its own accord. He grinned when she moaned against his mouth. He let his hand travel up and down her smooth leg as he deepened the kiss.

Eventually, they pulled apart to catch their breath. Their breathing was ragged as they stared at each other, kind of sheepishly.

"Do you feel better now?" she asked with a playful smile.

"No," he said, and kissed her again.

This time he hoisted her against the wall and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He kissed her mouth and moved down to her neck. Soon, she had a huge hickey that she wouldn't be able to hide very easily. He felt her fingers caress his chest through his soaking shirt and shivered. He let his fingers travel under her shirt and caress her spine. He was careful not to venture too far up, knowing that he wouldn't be able to control himself if he went there.

When they pulled apart for a second time, they couldn't help but grin at each other.

"All better," he said with a gentle kiss to her nose.

She giggled.

With that, he let her down from the wall and they straightened themselves out. They were already late for class, but neither of them seemed to mind. Fang knew that nothing could really change between them. Her parents weren't going to stand for it if he was back in her life and he wasn't really in a position to have a girlfriend. With that knowledge – and Max's earlier words – he knew that nothing was different between them.

But maybe he could get in some more sneaky kisses in the future.

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**A/N: Have you ever had a really bad day where everything has just gone wrong? What happened? **


	9. Evident Evidence, pt 1

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to those people who have had very bad days in the past. I hope this makes you feel a tiny bit better. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride**

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Chapter Nine – Evident Evidence, Part 1

**Max's POV**

Max had always known who she was. When she was younger, she was a tomboy. When she left the town of Ari, she became what her mother moulded her into. Now, she had no freaking clue. One moment, she was pushing Fang away and deciding to just fit in. Then, she was getting involved in a stupid little bitch fight with Lissa. Now, she had kissed Fang for no real reason and acted like it never happened. She was so confused, it was insane.

The teacher was saying something, droning on and on about molecules and whatnot. Max wasn't listening – she was daydreaming.

Argh! Why did her daydreaming keep returning to kissing Fang? She was trying to forget all about it. She'd already rationalised that she wasn't a slut for kissing him, but the fear was still there. Would she randomly kiss other boys in the future? Was she destined to never have a proper relationship?

So she shouldn't be thinking about Fang. Not at all. She shouldn't remember the way his lips felt on hers, or the way he'd smiled at her. She definitely shouldn't be touching the huge hickey he'd given her. She'd had to hide it under a bandaid and pretend her cat had scratched her.

She didn't have a cat.

But if anyone really cared, she could create some other lie to back it up. She was good at lying on the spot now; much better then when she'd been an innocent tomboy. With a sigh, she let her hand drop away from her neck and refocused on the class. She would _not _think about Fang.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, she couldn't have been happier. She jumped out of her seat and was the first out of the room. She made her way to her last class for the day, gym. They were playing soccer today. It was usually something fun to do. Even the most uncoordinated people could play, though they tended to be placed in a separate team from the usual sporty people.

The grassy field was greener than usual; probably from the spout of rain they'd had a few days ago. She remembered a shirtless Fang and abruptly stopped walking. Then she shook her head and continued, trying not to think about it.

She was one of the first people to arrive at the soccer field and started stretching to warm up. She wasn't exactly heavily into sports. But she was very competitive and naturally athletic. She hadn't truly played a sport in a long time, and she was looking forward to kicking some ass. She wanted to see everyone's faces when she proved she wasn't just some useless rich kid.

When the rest of her class arrived, she was chosen to be a captain. To her annoyance, Lissa was chosen as the opposing captain. But then she remembered that she would get a chance to personally kick Lissa's ass, and that made her happy. She was imagining different ways in which she could tackle Lissa without getting in trouble when a deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey, Coach. Our teacher is away and we were wondering if we could just join up with your class," Samuel Worthington said. Max looked over and spotted the senior boys all grouped around Sam. She immediately spotted Fang, but forced herself to act disinterested.

"Sure, boys. We were about to start picking teams."

"I choose Fang," Lissa said loudly, much to Max's chagrin.

Fang looked pained as he took his spot behind Lissa.

"Sam," Max chose.

"Julia," Lissa said with a smirk.

And so the teams were decided. Max ended up with half of the boys, including the Worthington twins and Kurt, one of her admirers. She also had Nudge and Iggy, which she was happy about.

When the players had taken their positions, with some people sitting on the sidelines, waiting for their turn, Max threw a death glare at Lissa. Lissa flinched, making Max grin from ear to ear.

When the whistle blew, the game commenced. Max took off, playing excellently. She managed to score a goal in the first five minutes, much to everyone's surprise. The game continued with Fang scoring a goal for the other side. Max's team was clearly better, but Fang was amazing all by himself. He was graceful and _fast_. He could perform tricks that left you wondering if he could somehow fly. It was basically her team against Fang - he was that good.

Somehow, even though they were on the same team, Julia managed to trip and land on Fang, pinning him. She acted embarrassed, but a blind person could see she'd done it on purpose. The amount of time she took to get off of him was ridiculous and Sam managed to score two goals in the time it took for Fang to get back into the game.

But it wasn't as if Max was jealous. She was just angry that their only real competitor was out for the count. What was the point of playing this game if they had no real competition?

That's what she told herself, anyway.

Finally, Max and Fang came face to face. She had the ball and there was no way she was going to let him take it from her. Her face was red from exercise and she could see that he was breathing normally despite the amount of running around he had been doing. That made her think about his fitness and endurance – which made her cheeks turn pinker. She quickly banished those thoughts lest she lose concentration.

Their feet met in a dance, but she managed to pass the ball before he could take it. Nudge took the ball away effortlessly, heading towards the goal. Max and Fang's legs became entwined, however, and they both fell over. He was on top of her, looking confused, as she struggled to regain her breath.

"Get off," she said, shoving at him ineffectively.

He grinned, regaining his senses, and leaned in closer to her.

"You didn't have to throw yourself at me," he said with a cheeky grin.

"I wouldn't dare lower myself to Julia's standards," she retorted.

Fang's eyes flashed and his grin changed to a smirk. "Jealous?" he asked.

She groaned in disapproval and kept shoving at him. He took his time getting up, making sure to let his hand wander up her thigh and under her gym shorts. When he was off her, she made sure to stamp on his toes. Sometimes he could be so frustrating.

The game continued until Max finally came up against Lissa. Lissa was hopeless with the ball. She would be easy to overwhelm. But Max wanted to prolong the moment and maybe inflict a bit of pain. So it surprised her when Lissa lashed out first and tripped her. Max broke her fall with her wrist and was glad when it didn't break. When she righted herself, she turned to face Lissa, aware that the whistle had been blown.

"Bitch," she seethed, spitting near Lissa's feet.

"Barbarian," Lissa said scornfully, her face twisted into an expression of hate.

Max gave her a toothy grin; then punched her in the face.

By the time the coach had reached them, Lissa was lying on the ground and Max was massaging her knuckles.

"Max!" Coach roared. "10 laps, right now."

Max didn't need to be told twice. She started jogging without looking back. She decided that she liked physical fights much better than bitchy ones. Maybe Lissa would back off now.

Somehow, she didn't really believe that.

On her fifth lap, the bell rang and everyone was packing up. Soon, there was no one else on the field except for the Coach, who was glaring at her. When she was finally done, she confronted her teacher and hoped that Lissa had a black eye.

"Max, what the hell came over you?" Coach spat, looking murderous.

"We have history," she replied.

"I don't care if she kicked your grandma; you do not just punch someone. It's very unladylike."

"Exactly," Max said with a grin. "Plus, if she kicked my grandma I think you _would _care. She was a very powerful woman when she was alive. She owned half of the town."

"That's not the point-"

"I'm going to have a shower. Anything you have to say to me you can say to my mother."

The Coach watched with an open mouth as Max sauntered towards the showers. She felt sticky, dirty and disgusting. There was no way she was sitting in her car feeling so gross.

"How's your hand?" someone called from near the locker rooms.

She saw Fang approach her and shrugged her shoulders. She was touched he'd waited for her, but was still pissed at him for some unknown reason.

He caught her hand and studied her knuckles. They were bruised and she was surprised when he kissed them better.

"You were good today," she said reluctantly.

He smiled. "Coach offered me a spot on the team. I didn't give him an answer. I thought it might ruin my reputation."

Max snorted. "Since when do you care about your reputation?" she questioned.

"Since this girl I know made me a pawn in her little game," he said, not unkindly.

Max didn't know what to say.

"It's okay, Max. I'm kidding. I just don't know if I'd be any good."

"You would be amazing," she said sincerely.

"You think?" This new uncertain side of Fang was unnerving. She didn't know what was going on, but it was something big. Fang wasn't usually so indecisive. He had always known what he wanted.

"Fang, are you ever going to tell me what's going on?" she asked him, resigned.

"I don't want you to get involved," he answered sweetly.

"But I want to help you. Something really bad is going on."

"You can always kiss me better," he joked.

"This isn't funny," she admonished. "I don't know what I was thinking when I did that, but it was a one time thing."

Silence reigned as they both sized each other up.

"I'm going for a jog," he said suddenly, tearing off onto the field without looking back. She sighed and made her way into the showers. They were empty, so she stripped off and threw her clothes on one of the benches. She took a long shower, making sure to wash off all of the grass, sweat and dirt that covered her body. When she was done, she reached for her towel…that wasn't there.

She searched the shower but couldn't see her towel anywhere. She could have sworn she left a towel on the hook. She carefully ventured out into the locker room, making sure no one was there. When she went to where she'd left her clothes, she found nothing.

"Shit," she swore.

Suddenly, she knew exactly what had happened. Lissa had gotten revenge. She had been clever, choosing a time when Max hadn't expected anything. She should've known that Lissa or one of her cronies would have acted quickly.

Apprehensively, Max made her way to her locker. The lock had been broken off and the contents were missing. She was now naked without even a towel to cover her. She even checked the towel cupboard, but her tormentors had thought of everything. She suddenly felt like laughing, so she did.

She was screwed.

Max thought of the walk to her car. She would have to pass numerous people, no doubt.

Faintly, she heard the sound of thudding feet and remembered Fang. Maybe he was still jogging.

Quickly, she ran to the locker room door and carefully peered outside. She could see a figure jogging towards the building and held her breath. When she recognised the gait and body language as Fang's, she waited until he was close until she yelled his name.

He didn't hear.

"Fang!" she yelled even louder.

This time he paused and looked around. When he saw her head sticking out of the door, he cautiously made his way towards her.

"Take off your shirt," she demanded as soon as he was close.

"Really, Max? We could at least find a bed somewhere first," he joked.

"Just do it," she growled.

He seemed to grasp that something was wrong, because he peeled his shirt off and gave it to her through the door. It was sweaty, but she didn't mind. She pulled it on over her head and checked to make sure it covered her butt. She thanked God that Fang was tall.

When she opened the door wide, she felt extremely self-conscious.

"What happened?" he asked. She noticed the way his eyes roamed over her body; no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"Someone took all my clothes and anything I could cover myself with," she explained, her cheeks pink from his examinations.

He gulped.

"What?" she couldn't help but ask.

"You look _so_ sexy." His voice was strained, as if he was speaking against his will.

She blushed a deeper shade of red.

"Can you just walk me to my car?" she asked.

He nodded jerkily.

For the entire walk Max felt like she was being watched. No one was around, but she felt so embarrassed that she kept imagining what people would say if they saw her. A girl walked past and she had to hide behind Fang so she wouldn't be seen.

When they reached her car, Max nearly sobbed in desperation. The tyres had been slashed to ribbons. Her whole body slumped in defeat. Where Max fought out in the open, Lissa fought dirty.

Fang grabbed her hand and massaged calming circles on her palm. "Don't worry. We'll call someone to tow it and then I'll drive you home, okay?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice. She realised that although she acted tough, that sometimes she was sensitive. She was having trouble understanding how someone could be so mean as to trash her car. She knew that not everyone was good or nice, but sometimes she was faced with evidence that made her sad.

Fang dialled a number on his phone and talked for a while. Max didn't pay attention. Instead, she stared at her car like it would magically fix itself.

When Fang was done, he led her to his car and opened the door for her. He rummaged around in the backseat for a moment before he produced a pair of sweatpants. She gratefully put them on and settled into the passenger seat.

"I'm really sorry, Max," Fang said with sincerity.

"You didn't do anything," she said, a little hollowly.

"I know, but you're not going to get an apology from Lissa. You might as well get one from someone," he explained.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

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**A/N: What would be your revenge on Lissa if you were Max?**


	10. Evident Evidence, pt 2

**A/N: I got heaps of feedback from that last chapter. Thanks for the support. Keep it up ;)**

**D****ISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride**

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Chapter Ten – Evident Evidence, Part 2

**Max's POV**

When Fang started his car the radio came on, blaring music. He quickly turned it down, giving her an apologetic look. From what she heard, the music was loud and angry. She liked it.

He put the car into gear and expertly manoeuvred the old piece of junk across the car park and onto the main road.

Max plucked at the fraying sweatpants he'd leant her, trying not to show how rattled she was. Lissa had actually attempted to humiliate her! Luckily, no one except Fang had seen, but no doubt everyone would find out. It didn't matter if no one else had seen, gossip was still gossip.

"So, you reckon Lissa has a broken nose?" Fang asked hopefully.

Max smirked. "I sure hope so. Or maybe a big fat black eye," she said wistfully.

"She deserves it. She didn't really waste any time getting you back, though," he added.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. I'm thinking that maybe she'd already planned the shower scene. Her little minion probably didn't even know Lissa had been punched. I'm guessing it was all set up beforehand."

"That makes sense," Fang said, considering. "But how were they going to get you in the showers alone?"

"I thought of that. Maybe Lissa was going to do something to distract me or get me in trouble. She wasn't counting on getting punched, I would say. Do you think that she planned to be the one to catch me out naked? Maybe she was going to walk in on me with some of her friends, or send the Worthington twins in. But she never got to it because of the punch."

"Sounds about right," Fang said with a large amount of venom in his voice.

"So she planned it so that someone would catch me out. She didn't count on you, my hero," Max surmised with a grin and a bat of her eyelashes.

Fang laughed and the sound made her insides clench with desire.

"So, what's the plan?" Fang asked as he stopped at a stop sign. He looked over at her, showing without words that he was ready to follow her anywhere. She sensed that he was extremely angry about Lissa's attempted humiliation. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel and his breath was shorter than usual. But otherwise, he seemed perfectly calm.

"Well, I did punch her," she reminded him.

He grinned and his knuckles relaxed. He coaxed the car forward, past the stop sign.

"I don't really like playing petty bitch games," she admitted, peering out the window towards the houses on the cliffs. She had never felt so sick of the stupid games teenagers played. She wanted to forget about the whole thing, but she knew she was in too deep. Lissa wasn't going to leave her alone now, and stopping would look like surrender. Her pride was at stake. She couldn't knowingly walk away from this fight.

She would _not_ lose.

Fang seemed to sense her determination. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and she knew he felt the same.

"I'm a part of this…thing... now, even if I didn't really want to be. Lissa wants to use me as some kind of chess piece in her game to stay the queen. But she doesn't realise that you're a king, Max. You're not going to give up, even if this goes against what you find comfortable. I know you don't like being sneaky and underhanded, but you will if you need to be. But, you can also win this thing in an upfront way. I'm going to be with you the entire way. Iggy and Nudge, too. We can pull this off."

Max was speechless.

Fang seemed embarrassed. Max placed her hand on his and gave it a squeeze.

"I really appreciate your help," she said.

He nodded his head, but didn't look away from the road.

The ancient car drove along the windy Cliffside road. She knew it took a lot for him to venture this close to the Cliffs. He was still wary of any Cliffy. She sighed, wondering if they could ever live a life together. Money meant power in this small town. But not just money, she told herself, _old _money. New money was treated with as much contempt as the poor. Even if Fang miraculously became rich, he still wouldn't fit into her world.

Sometimes she really hated her world.

Would she really be giving anything up if she ran away from it forever? She pictured herself living with Fang, having to work her way up from a normal job. They could have children without having to put up with her parent's interference. They could love each other. They could exist together.

She sighed again. She didn't want to give up her father's job. But she desperately wanted Fang to be involved in her life.

She shook the thought from her head. Being a friend – or more – to Fang was not an option. She might as well forget about it now. As soon as school was over, they would most likely never see each other again.

"Home sweet home," Fang announced, snapping Max out of her thoughts. He'd pulled up in front of her house on the opposite side of the road. She could see his tension at being so close to her mother, which would've made her laugh if it wasn't well deserved. Val Ride was a woman to be feared.

But Max wasn't afraid anymore.

"Thanks for the lift, Fang," she whispered with a tight smile.

"No worries," he replied, giving her a small smirk.

She crossed the street and gave Fang a quick wave before she entered the house at the highest point of the Cliffs.

Max quietly shut the front door behind her. She paused, drawing herself together and ridding herself of thoughts of Fang.

"Maxine?"

Max started as her heart beat increased. She swallowed and turned away from the door to face her mother.

"Mother," Max said, taking in the regal form of Valencia Ride. Her mother was wearing a beautiful dress the colour of royal blue. Her hair was in a tidy bun and her lips were pursed.

"Would you please join your father and me in the dining room," she said, turning around sharply and leaving Max to follow her.

Her heart sunk as she realised what this was all about. Coach had dobbed her in for punching Lissa and now she was being dealt with.

"Maxine," Jeb Ride greeted as she sat down on the opposite side of the table from her parents. Jeb was hardly ever home nowadays, so she knew he was here for the sole purpose of helping her mother deal with her. He was still wearing his business shirt and tie, but his jacket was missing. Some silver hairs had appeared near his temples.

"Hello, father," she replied.

"What on Earth has gotten into you?" her mother said harshly, a strand of hair escaping her perfect bun.

She stayed silent.

"Punching Lissa? I told your coach that some sort of mistake had occurred, but I was assured that there was no mistake. You're lucky to still be attending that school! I had to bribe the principal to allow you to stay on and for this e_vent _to be stricken from your record. Now, I'm asking you _what on Earth has gotten into you_."

Before she could respond, Jeb cut in. "What are you wearing, Max?"

The room went deadly silent as they both took in what she was wearing. She was surprised her mother hadn't noticed earlier.

"Well, _Lissa_ took all my clothes when I was showering after Gym. So I was nearly humiliated in front of everyone. Luckily, I borrowed someone's clothes and managed to get home safely, even though she _slashed my tyres_."

That made them shut up.

"So you punched her?" Her father inquired, perplexed.

She didn't bother correcting him.

"Lissa would never do such a thing. She is a _proper _lady," her mother said like a true snob. She had more respect for Lissa than her own daughter.

Max rolled her eyes.

"You're grounded, Maxine. You are not to leave the house except to attend school. I want you home by three-thirty every afternoon," Jeb said with a hard glint in his eyes.

He stood up and smoothed out his shirt. "I'm going back to work. I'd appreciate it if I wasn't interrupted again today." His last remark was shot at her mother, who promptly ignored it.

Val stood from her chair, kissed Jeb on the cheek, and watched him leave. The room remained silent until Val turned her gaze onto her.

"What is that on your neck?" Val inquired.

She swallowed.

"A cat scratched me," she lied lamely.

With three steps Val was on her side of the table, peeling off the bandaid. Her mother's face went rigid as she saw the hickey on her daughter's neck.

"Who gave you this?" Val demanded.

"A cat," Max said without humour.

Val pierced her with a cold gaze.

"Kurt Peterson," she lied.

Her mother's face lightened. "Now he is a nice kid." By 'nice', she meant 'rich'.

The silence continued, making her mother suspicious.

"You're lying, aren't you?" Val asked, her face instantly hard again.

"Yep," Max said, steeling herself. She wasn't going to be afraid of her mother anymore.

"You were with Fang." Val's face was red and quite unattractive. She looked so angry that Max nearly lost her nerve.

"We're friends, Mum. We hang out together."

"And give each other hickeys? I thought I made this clear two years ago. You are not to see Fang anymore. He is trash."

Max gritted her teeth. "No, you're trash. They way you treat people is despicable. You act like you're so high and mighty, when you're actually pathetic. Where are your friends, Mother? And I don't mean the snobs who all gossip about you behind your back. You're alone. Even Dad can't stand to be with you for long. You want to know why?-"

"That's enough! I don't want to hear another word from your mouth!" Val interrupted, losing her temper. Val never lost her temper. She prided herself on her control.

"I don't have to listen to you anymore! You've controlled my entire life. I know about how you manipulated me into becoming a 'lady'. Well, I'm not your puppet! I'm going to learn to run Father's business. I'm going to take over the company. I'm going to marry whomever I want. I'm going to be my own person." Max abruptly lowered her voice and gave her mother a menacing stare. "Just try and stop me."

Val swallowed, the vein above her eyebrow bulging.

"You're going to go to your room, Max, and think about whom runs this household. You may think that you can control what goes on in this house, but you're mistaken. _I _have all the power. One word from me and you'll be out on the street like a common beggar. _I _decide your future."

"So be it," Max replied. Val flinched, as if she didn't quite believe what Max was saying. She wasn't afraid anymore. She wasn't afraid of losing her inheritance or her father's job. She would simply work her way up from the bottom. She was a survivor; she wasn't going to give up.

She grinned at her mother and stalked past her towards her room. She wasn't going there because Val had ordered her to. She was going there because it was the only space inside the house that truly felt like her own.

Her mother might think she was Queen of the Cliffside Mansion, but Max was already learning how to overthrow a Queen Bee at school. She would soon have the skill to show her mother that she was indeed her own person.

When she reached her room, she calmly walked to her balcony and stared out across the ocean.

Max smiled as she convinced herself that she could see her and Fang's cave on the beach.

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**A/N: What would you like to see in this story? Maybe I can incorporate it somehow. :)**


	11. My Eye

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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**Chapter Eleven – My Eye**

**Fang's POV**

It'd been a week and Fang had had one job interview. However, it didn't turn out well. As soon as the interviewer learnt why he got fired from his old job, it was over. He knew that no one was going to hire him after he'd punched a customer. He regretted his actions against Sam, but he also couldn't help but feel a tiny bit smug.

Too bad he was already running out of money.

"What's up?" Iggy was peering at him like he was sick.

"Are we doing anything this afternoon?" Fang asked.

"Um, well…"

"You're going out with Ella, aren't you?" Fang asked, secretly disappointed. He didn't exactly want to leave school alone today. He didn't want to go through with what he thought was inevitable. But he was out of options.

"Yeah. But we can do something instead, if you want. Or maybe you can hang out with us," Iggy suggested.

"I don't want to cramp your style," Fang said with a smirk.

Iggy rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I've got places to be. It's not like you're my only friend," Fang joked to ease Iggy's nerves.

"Yeah, you've got a whole plethora of friends. I bet they're just waiting to meet you somewhere," Iggy said, punching Fang's arm.

"Have you been studying your vocabulary? I mean, 'plethora'?" Fang teased.

"Well, I do want to get decent marks at the end of the year," Iggy admitted.

Fang grinned.

"Whatever, go tease your plethora of friends." With that, Iggy gave a wave and disappeared around the corner. Fang kept grinning for a moment, but as soon as he started towards his car, his smile slipped.

"Fang!" He looked up and caught Julia's eye.

"What's up?" he asked, feeling awkward.

"Wanna hang out with me at Burger Fervour this afternoon?" she asked, looking angelic.

"Um, I don't think I'm really allowed there anymore."

"Oh, that's right. I heard you got fired."

"Yep." He decided to keep his responses short.

"Well, we could go somewhere else." She gave him a seductive smile that was easy to understand. 'Somewhere else' meant somewhere with a bed.

He briefly considered it for a moment. Max had mentioned that Julia just wanted a casual thing, no strings attached. She was pretty and obviously experienced. It would be easy.

No, it wouldn't be easy. He shuddered at the thought of being with Julia. Just the thought of touching her was enough to make him sick. He couldn't stop picturing Max's expression if she found out. He wouldn't – couldn't – do that to her. In fact, the effect it would have on him would be irreversible. He didn't think he'd ever be able to sleep with someone other than Max ever again. At least not while she was still in his life.

"Sorry Julia, I have some more job hunting to do."

He couldn't believe he'd even considered sleeping with her.

"I could help," she offered.

"No thanks, I'd rather do this by myself."

Julia's smile fell and she gave him a hard stare. "Look Fang, I'll make this really easy for you. You have needs, right? Well, so do I. I want to have sex with you – that's it. I promise Max won't find out – or anyone else for that matter. I could even talk to my dad and see if he has a job available at his restaurant. I'm sure I could persuade him to hire you."

"Julia, I don't feel right sleeping with you when I don't care for you that way. Maybe you should find a boyfriend or something."

She was silent for a moment, considering him.

"You really love her, don't you? I think it's so obvious, but hardly anyone else has noticed," Julia said with a soft smile.

He stayed silent.

"I like Max. She has balls. So I'd appreciate it if you kept my offer just between us. I'll let you go, then," she said.

He swallowed. "Thanks for understanding," he told her.

"Thanks for being honest," she replied with a tight smile.

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The alley was dark and deserted. Fang had been standing for ten minutes – just waiting. He stared at a graffiti covered wall and wondered who had taken the time and effort to spray their names on a wall. Was it worth it? Did the painter get some sense of satisfaction out of seeing their words on a wall?

Maybe he should try it.

"I spy with my little eye… well, well, well."

Fang looked up to find the end of the alleyway blocked by a group of teenagers. He glanced over his shoulder to see a similar sight behind him. They must have been totally silent to catch him off guard.

The speaker was a young man, about nineteen years old. His dark hair was long and greasy, but his face was handsome all the same.

"If memory serves me, you're Fang. You look just like your father," the greasy man said with a smirk. "He said that you might come looking for a job one day. So, run out of money already?"

Fang tensed, feeling cornered. This was his last ditch effort to get some money. As much as he hated working for people just like his father, he didn't really have a choice. No one decent was going to hire him, and the only indecent work in a town this small was crime.

He hated his father so much right then.

"I need a job," he said to the leader.

"Hmmm, you'll have to pass a test first. Then you'll have to go through initiation. _If_ you survive that, then we'll get you a job."

Fang inclined his head.

"If you can win a fight against one of us, then you can start initiation. However, I may find it useful to make you win two fights. In that case, the second fight will be against me. Understood?"

He nodded again.

"Gasman, you're up first. First one to yield loses."

A boy, just a few years younger than Fang, stepped out into the middle of the alley. He had blonde hair and big blue eyes. Fang didn't want to fight this kid, but he wasn't about to back down either.

"Start!" the leader yelled.

The Gasman leapt into the air and went flying at Fang. Caught off guard, all Fang could do was jump out of the way.

With a speed that Fang wasn't expecting, the Gasman was steady on his feet and ready to keep fighting. With a grace that was super human, the Gasman started to throw rapid punches at Fang. He dodged each one, imagining himself to have a grace akin to the Gasman's, if not better.

Fang gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to be shown up by a punk kid. He knew that he needed to go on the offence if he was ever going to get the upper hand. With that thought, Fang clenched his fists and gave his attacker a fierce grin. He saw a brief look of concern cross the Gasman's face before he threw another punch at Fang.

Fang didn't duck this time. No, he grabbed the Gasman's fist before it could hit his face and held it there. He held it there just long enough for an expression of fear to cross the Gasman's face. Before the Gasman could blink, Fang twisted his arm behind his back, spun him around and then kicked him where the sun doesn't shine.

The Gasman went flying for the second time that night. This time he landed on his face and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Fang was impressed when the Gasman picked himself up and turned to face him again. His nose was bloody and he was covered in scratches, but he didn't seem to notice as he went into a fighting stance.

Fang moved faster than he knew he could and had the Gasman's face pressed into the ground. He tightened his grip on the Gasman's arm and twisted it. The poor guy cried out in pain. Fang felt bad, but he had a point to prove; even if it did mean beating up kids.

The Gasman struggled, but he wasn't going anywhere. The guy even farted. Fang gagged (the smell was terrible), but he held on. He needed a job and this was the only thing he could think of that he had a chance at.

"I yield," the Gasman croaked when it became apparent that Fang wasn't going to budge.

Fang released him and helped the boy up.

"You call that a fight?" the leader yelled with a forced laugh. "That was barely a scuffle. You'll have to beat me if you want to be initiated."

"My pleasure," Fang responded with a grin meant to intimidate.

He could tell by the look in the leader's eyes that it worked.

"Start!" a member shouted from the sidelines.

Fang, tensed and ready to move, leapt into action. His fist connected with the leader's face before the leader could move. He landed a kick squarely in the leader's gut and pushed him onto the ground with his momentum.

The leader wasn't inept, though, just slow. He quickly got to his feet and into a fighting position. He started firing punches at Fang, who was too fast to catch. The leader got a lucky hit to Fang's temple, but couldn't get another hit.

With a grace he didn't know he possessed, Fang slammed his foot into the leader and knocked him to the ground. Blood flew from the leader's mouth as he made contact with the cement. Fang stood over the other male and placed his foot on his chest. The leader groaned and struggled, but was no match for Fang's strength.

"I yield," the leader said, spitting bloody saliva onto the ground beside him.

The fight had barely lasted two minutes. He could tell that the leader was embarrassed. He'd underestimated Fang greatly, and now he was paying for it with a split lip and a bruised body.

"So, when's initiation?" Fang asked, feeling smug.

"We are the Flock-" the leader started.

"Fang?"

Fang turned and stared in horror. There, partially hidden in the shadows, was Max.

"Max? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, surprised and angry at the same time.

"I could ask the same thing of you," she snapped, stepping out into the light.

There was the sound of sirens in the distance and the entire group – or Flock – stiffened. Within two seconds, the group of misfits had split up. They had disappeared within seconds, leaving Fang and Max alone in the alley.

"You called the cops?" he asked.

"I thought you were in trouble! I didn't realise that you were trying out for some stupid gang!"

"C'mon," he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her away from the alley.

"Fang," she said softly.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I don't want to go home. I'm supposed to be grounded."

"Okay, I'll take you to the cave," he said, ignoring the feelings swirling around inside his gut.

"Thanks," she said, sounding so small and vulnerable that he couldn't help but feel protective.

With that thought, he started walking faster. No way was Max going to get caught up in anything involving the police.

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It was dark on the beach. There were hardly any stars in the sky and the horizon was barely distinguishable. Fang held Max's hand as they made their way across the sandy beach. He told himself that it was because they couldn't see where they were going, but knew that wasn't the case.

Fang had been finding lots of excuses to touch Max recently. He remembered kissing her knuckles better after she'd punched Lissa. He remembered playing sport with her and touching her leg as he got up from tripping. He'd liked the way she'd looked that day; all tussled hair and sweaty skin. God, she was beautiful.

It killed him that they couldn't be together.

They finally reached their cave. Fang let go of Max's hand, even though the warmth was the only thing keeping him sane. He busied his hands by lighting a candle. The soft glow made Max look like a golden goddess, while he was sure it just cast him in shadows. That was often the way it was – Max was all light and happiness, he was all dark and silent. They were contrasts, which was perhaps why he felt so attracted to her.

"Why can't you just tell me what's wrong with you, Fang?" Max asked. She was huddling in an old rocking chair he'd brought down a few weeks ago. He silently fetched a blanket for her and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Why were you there tonight?" he asked, referring to his 'meeting' with the band of criminals known as the Flock.

"I asked you first," she said petulantly.

He sighed and tensed his muscles. He didn't know whether telling her the truth was the right thing, but he couldn't really think of any other options.

"My mum and dad left. I assume they're living it up in some mansion on the other side of the world. He left me with five hundred bucks. Five hundred! That's not going to last much longer. I can't get hired the traditional way, Max. So I resorted to the untraditional way."

"You aren't your father, Fang. I'm not going to let you get involved with a bunch of criminals. Why didn't you just come to me? I can help!"

"I still have some pride," he said, even though he felt like he didn't have _anything_ left.

Max's eyes softened. He couldn't stand the look of pity she was giving him. He would rather her be angry with him.

"I don't want you to turn out like this, Fang. Isn't there another way?" she asked, her eyes brimming with compassion.

He shrugged, faking nonchalance.

"Will you still have pride if I get an interview for you? My father is looking for some new local talent in business. You would be a ruthless businessman, Fang."

"Your father wouldn't hire me."

"Unlike my mother, my father doesn't care about such petty things. If you could do the job well, he would hire you. It wouldn't matter if you were a one-eyed purple people eater – he would hire you. It's not like I'd be giving you the job, either. You'd have to prove to my father that you were worthy before he even considered hiring you."

Fang smiled softly, loving the hope and optimism shining in Max's eyes.

"What about your mother – doesn't she get a say?" he asked.

Max snorted in a way he found endearing. "She can't change my dad's mind about business."

"I'll think about it," he said, mainly to keep her happy.

She gave him a look that questioned his manhood.

"I'll let you know when the interview is," she said, leaving him no choice but to accept.

"What do you get in return?" he asked, allowing a bit of his usual smirk to appear.

"I get to have you as a slave for a day," she said, her own smirk playing on her lips.

"What will you have me do?" he inquired.

"I think I'll start the day off with a nice breakfast. I remember that you used to make a mean bacon and eggs," she said, grinning outright.

"Sounds like a date," he said, just to stir her up.

She grinned in a way that made him nervous.

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That night, Fang took Max back to his house. She slept curled up on his mattress. He watched her for a long time, trying to memorize her every feature and expression. She frowned when she slept, but sometimes her mouth would turn up into a smile that took his breath away.

Knowing that he was going to get chewed out tomorrow, he slipped into the bed with her. She snuggled up close to him, gripping the front of his shirt in a death grip. He pulled her close and fell asleep with his arm around her.

He hadn't felt so comfortable in a long time.

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**A/N: This story won't be as long as I originally planned. I'm too busy now to write a really long story that will be updated quickly enough for you guys. So I'm going to make this story a total of about 20 chapters. Sorry if this disappoints you, but this way I'll be able to focus on my studies.**

**Also, just to keep you in suspense, the next chapter will be about Iggy and Nudge. THEN we will see some slave action from Fang. Keep reading. :D**


	12. Difficult Decisions

**A/N: Thanks for everyone's reviews and sorry for the wait. I'm not sure how well I've edited this chapter. Actually, I can't remember if I've even edited it at all. I didn't want to waste any time getting it out to you lovely readers. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride**

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Chapter Twelve – Difficult Decisions **

**Iggy's POV**

Ella's hand felt warm in his. The soft skin was a stark contrast to his calloused hands. He couldn't picture a life where his hands were soft. Life had always been something he'd had to shape with his own hands. To picture someone else being able to go through life without lifting a finger made him mad. But it was stupid to blame Ella for her comparatively easy life.

He didn't blame Ella, but he did find himself occasionally resenting her.

"What did you think of the movie?" Ella asked, squeezing his hand just a bit tighter.

"It was alright," he said with a shrug.

_I hated it_, he felt like saying.

"I liked the part with the dog. That was pretty funny," she said.

"Yeah," he said with a fake laugh.

_I hated that part_, he felt like saying.

"Do you want ice-cream?" she asked, gesturing to a small shop up ahead.

"My treat," he said with a smile.

He tried to stop thinking and enjoy the ice cream, but it was no use. Something, he didn't know what, was putting him in a bad mood. Ella was beautiful, smart and one of the nicest people he knew; yet, he always found himself having bad thoughts about her. It was almost like his subconscious wouldn't let him love another girl.

Apparently, he would be stuck mooning over Nudge for the rest of his life.

"Iggy, is something wrong?" Ella asked, giving him a look of such concern that he immediately felt guilty.

"I'm just thinking," he told her with a reassuring smile.

Ella checked her watch, gave Iggy another look, and then smiled sheepishly. "I have to head home soon, I've got heaps of homework to do before tomorrow."

"Okay, do you want me to drop you home?"

"Nah, my mum is out and about today. She can come and pick me up."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

She grinned. "I think I can manage."

He leant across the table and gave her a quick kiss. Her lips tasted like strawberries and cream. Maybe it was her type of lip-gloss.

"Isn't that Nudge?" Ella asked as they pulled away from each other. Immediately, his heart rate picked up and his breathing grew rapid.

"Huh?" he asked with a voice higher than usual.

"Outside. She looks really sad." Ella was peering behind Iggy's head, where the window had a view of the street.

He turned slowly, almost dreading what his reaction to seeing her was going to be. Sure enough, Nudge was out on the street waiting at the crossing. Her hair was blowing every which way, making her look like a model in the middle of a shoot. She was gorgeous – everything he found attractive in a girl.

"Should we go talk to her?" Ella seemed completely oblivious to his strange reaction to Nudge. He felt bad, mainly because she would never suspect that he was thinking about another girl. She was innocent, while he was guilty.

"You should go home and work on your homework. I can go talk to Nudge and make sure she's feeling okay."

"Oh, okay. Good idea."

They parted ways with a kiss that didn't linger on his part. He liked Ella. He just wished that he could like her more than he already loved Nudge.

God, he felt absolutely terrible.

With quick steps and a determined expression on his face, Iggy made his way over to Nudge. The light had long ago gone green, but she still hadn't crossed. When he came up beside her he did the first thing that came to his head. He took her hand. He was aware that he'd only left Ella a few moments ago, but in that instant he couldn't care less.

When Nudge lifted her head, he could clearly see the tears making their way down her cheeks.

"Take me home," she whispered in a broken voice.

XXXXRULERXXXX

The car didn't belong to him. He'd borrowed it from his parents for his date with Ella. Now he felt like he'd somehow betrayed their trust by driving Nudge around in it.

"So, are you going to tell me why you were crying?" Iggy asked, his hands tight on the steering wheel.

"No."

"Why?"

"You'll think I'm stupid," Nudge admitted as she wiped away her tears.

"Too late," he said in a vain effort to make her smile.

Instead, she sobbed.

"I was kidding," he quickly revealed, casting a worried look in her direction.

"I just…I feel like no one in the whole world understands me. People like me, sure. But does anyone know me well enough to love me? Everyone seems to think that I'm so happy that I could never possibly need cheering up. Everyone thinks that I'm so confident that I never need a compliment. Everyone thinks I can look after myself, so when I need help or encouragement, it never comes. I feel so alone."

Iggy pulled up in front of Nudge's house, speechless. He had no idea that she could be so affected by what other people _didn't_ do.

He leant over the middle of the car and gave her an awkward hug. He couldn't think of any words at that moment, but a hug seemed to be exactly what she needed. She clung to him tightly for a long time.

"Do you want to come inside?" she asked with a sniffle.

"Sure," he replied, swallowing back his emotions.

"My parents are away on business and I don't really want to be alone right now," she admitted.

"I understand," he said as he took the keys out of the ignition and followed her towards the house.

Of course, the house was beautiful. He expected nothing less from a house on the Cliffs. He'd been there before when he was younger. Then, he and Nudge would hang out for hours, watching movies and playing in her huge backyard. Nudge's parents weren't pretentious. They didn't care that Iggy wasn't rich. Instead, they welcomed him like a son.

Nudge led him towards her room, where she flopped down face first onto the mattress. He pretended that he wasn't nervous being in her room (they used to hang out there together all the time when they were younger), but just the thought of Nudge and a bed was causing him to sweat.

"Do you feel better now?" Iggy asked her as he tentatively sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, thanks Iggy." Her response was somewhat muffled by the bed.

"You're lying, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but we can pretend that I'm feeling better. I'll try not to cry again until you leave," Nudge managed to say as she lifted her face from the bed.

Iggy frowned. "Or, I could try and make you feel better," he suggested.

"Don't worry about it, Iggy. You might have understood me when we were young, but we haven't been close for years. I understand that we've grown apart. You don't have to try and prove anything."

"What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure I understand you more than you do yourself."

Nudge sat up at this and gave him a disbelieving stare.

"I know that you care about everyone around you, no matter if they're your friend or not. I can just see you worrying about Max and Fang more than you worry about yourself. It upsets you that they don't talk to you about what's going on between them. It also upsets you that they aren't smart enough to see that they should be together."

Iggy took a big breath, but was nowhere near finished.

"You always laugh at jokes, even if some of them aren't funny, because you don't want to hurt the person's feelings. But I can always tell when you actually find something funny, because your eyes crinkle and your laugh lowers an octave.

"You smile at everyone when you greet them, even if you've never met them before. Except if you're in the middle of worrying about someone. Then you might as well be gone to the world. It happens when I try to talk to you, but you're thinking about Max and Fang.

"You've never once asked about my girlfriend, but at the same time you seem to know everything about us. Just like you know that Max and Fang should be together, Lissa is a bitch, Julia is lonely, Sam is most likely gay, the school band is fabulous, and the football team is full of wankers.

"Everyone thinks you're happy all the time because you're an amazing person. If people don't see your distress or loneliness, it's because you always put other people first. You give everyone so much attention that they run out of time to give any attention back to you."

Iggy had been watching her reaction throughout his little monologue. Her eyes had grown huge and her lips were quivering with some untold emotion. He wished he could know what she was thinking, just this once.

"I also know that someone does love you. I've loved you since we were little, and I think I always will."

With that statement off his chest, Iggy felt a huge relief. It was like a boulder that was slowly crushing the life out of him had been lifted. At that moment in time he wasn't thinking about the inevitable rejection he would get from her, but about the way it felt to finally have told her how he felt.

"Iggy…" She trailed off and looked at him like she'd never looked at him before. Then, without any warning whatsoever, she burst into tears.

"C'mon Nudge, you promised no more tears, remember?" he said, trying to soothe her. "I know you don't feel the same way, so don't feel like you have to say anything back to me."

"Oh Iggy, you big idiot. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she sobbed.

He didn't get a chance to reply, because he hands had fisted into the front of his shirt and she was pulling him towards her. They fell back onto the bed together in a tangle of limbs. He looked into Nudge's eyes and saw that she wasn't crying tears of sadness, but tears of joy.

Without thinking about it, he leant down and kissed her on the lips. What surprised him even more than his actions was that Nudge kissed him back.

It started off slow and sweet. He kept pulling away just to make sure that she actually wanted this. Then he just forgot about everything else and started kissing her harder, pouring years of unrequited love into the kiss. Soon, they were both panting from lack of air and mounting passion.

She dug her fingers into his hair and he planted his hands on her hips. Her t-shirt had ridden up so that he could feel the smooth skin there. Electric sparks travelled down his spine and caused him to shiver. One of her hands travelled down his back until it hooked onto the hem of his shirt. With a swift yank, she managed to pull it over his head.

The kiss continued to escalate. Nudge was squirming, pressing her whole body up against his. It felt like he'd been a parched man denied water all his life, but now he was swimming in it.

After a long moment, however, Iggy started to remember that what he was doing was wrong. He still had a girlfriend. One that would not even suspect that he would be with another girl. In fact, he was disappointed in himself. How quickly he'd forgotten all about her, the girl that wouldn't hurt a fly.

"Nudge, I have a girlfriend," he whispered after he'd pulled away.

Nudge big, beautiful eyes opened and looked right into his. They'd be full of passion a few moments ago, and now they were full of quiet understanding. He rested his forehead against hers for one second, and then untangled himself from her. He was already feeling the guilt settle on him like a smothering blanket.

"I have to go," he said, reaching for his shirt and pulling it back on.

"Okay," she replied sadly. "Thanks for…caring about me."

He gave her a steady look. "Nudge, I'm sure that more people care about you than you think."

"Yeah," she sighed in a way that said she didn't believe him.

He looked at her intensely, trying to tell her that she was the most beautiful, wonderful girl that he'd ever met.

"I hope you know that I think I love you too," she whispered, causing his heart to falter. He looked at her for a long time, wishing he could keep on kissing her. But he couldn't do that to Ella. She deserved better than that.

"I'll show myself out," he said.

Nudge just nodded.

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**A/N: You know what this means? The next chapter is Max and Fang's slavery chapter. Who's excited? I am! **

**Also, tell me if you're a fan of Iggy and Nudge or Iggy and Ella. Sorry I kind of made Iggy a bit of a jerk, but it's necessary. If he was happy with Ella, then things wouldn't be interesting.**


	13. Made Slave, pt 1

**A/N: Warning: extreme fluffiness ahead. Beware the overdose of FAX. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride. **

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**Chapter Thirteen – Made Slave, pt 1**

**Max's POV**

When Max opened her eyes that morning, the first thing she saw was Fang. His deep, dark and knowing eyes were watching her intently. It would have been unnerving, except she couldn't help but think that he had incredibly cute bed hair.

"Are you okay? You're crying," he said softly.

She slowly touched her eyes and found moisture there. She could vaguely remember a dream. It flitted through her memory like a deranged humming bird.

"Bad dream," she explained, forcing a smile for his benefit.

He'd been in her dream, of course. She'd been chasing him, but whenever they got close her mother would suddenly appear. She remembered wanting Fang so much that it hurt, but her mother would always thwart her attempts to be with him. The tears must have slipped out from frustrated longing.

With tender care, Fang wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. His warm breath tickled her ear and sent shivers racing up and down her spine. He gently kissed a lingering tear from her cheek and pulled away. She felt her heart beating an irregular rhythm and wondered how she could ever live without him.

"So, I believe you wanted to start the day off with a big breakfast," Fang said, sensing her need to change the subject.

"Bacon and eggs?" she asked hopefully.

He grinned. "Breakfast in bed?"

Max smiled. "Nah, I'll be down there in a second."

Fang heaved himself from the bed and sauntered towards the door. His hair was still mussed from sleep and stuck out at odd angles. She felt the urge to run her fingers through it; yet, at the same time, she wanted it to look like that forever.

When he was gone, she rolled over and found her phone on the floor. After she turned it back on she found that she had eight missed calls from home. She quickly turned the phone back off, not in any mood to talk to her mother.

Max stretched as she slowly climbed out of bed. She made her way into the bathroom and grimaced at what she saw. Her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was an absolute mess. She quickly ran her fingers through it until it looked decent.

After closer inspection of her shirt, she realised that no amount of straightening and pulling could make it look decent. She raided Fang's closet until she found a shirt with some obscure band on it. She took hers off and pulled the clean one on. It smelled like Fang, which made her feel a hundred times better. She tucked it into her jeans and admired the effect. She looked like a groupie. She found she liked the look better than the stiff clothes she usually wore in her parents' presence.

After borrowing some of Fang's deodorant and slipping on her converse, she made her way down the stairs to the sound of Fang digging around in his fridge.

"Okay, so we're going to need to go to the shops if we want breakfast," he said, still facing the fridge.

"Okay, but since I'm the master, I get to pay. I wouldn't want you to waste your meager wages on me. You might have a husband and three kids to raise," she teased.

He turned to face her, ready to make a retort about the 'husband' remark, she was sure. He paused, however, when he saw what she was wearing.

"You look so ridiculous it's cute," he said.

"I rather like it."

"That makes two of us," he replied with a smirk.

In the next second he'd walked over to her and placed his hand on her hip. He gripped it tightly and pulled her close to him, so that their chests were touching.

"Are you wearing my deodorant?"

"Mmhmm. Does it turn you off?"

"It depends. Do you plan on doing a lot of sweating in the near future?" he asked with an indecent smirk.

She slapped his arm, and then bit her lip. "It depends, do you plan on wearing your hair like that when we go grocery shopping?"

She realised they were flirting, and liked it. A lot. She pressed her body closer to his, pressing the length of her body against his taller frame.

"Won't the old ladies whisper about our unsavory appearances behind our backs?" he asked as he moved his hand from her hip to her butt.

"They're just jealous," she whispered.

His lips were getting closer to hers. She could practically taste them already.

Max grimaced when her stomach rumbled loudly.

Fang laughed and pulled away from her. "Well, we better get going if we ever plan on eating."

Max couldn't help feeling disappointed. She couldn't even remember why they weren't supposed to be together at this point. All she could think about was Fang. His body. His lips. His words. His smile. His laugh. He was under her skin in so many ways. It was like slowly being tortured.

He moved past her towards his bedroom, presumably to get changed. Max fought the urge to follow him and collapsed on a chair instead. She was breathing heavily, which surprised her.

**

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**

The supermarket was packed full of old ladies and pregnant women. Fang and Max ran down the aisles for a while, pissing off the majority of the customers and generally being a nuisance. They eventually managed to get the bacon, eggs, bread and butter required for their breakfast. She even grabbed some orange juice and a pack of cookies to go with it.

While they were walking down one of the aisles, Max spied the condoms and tried not to blush. She grabbed a packet, just for a joke, and read the cover.

"Glow in the dark," she said out loud with a smirk.

Fang wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder – all the better to read the package.

He picked up a different one with a woman dressed as an alien. "For 'out of body' experiences," he quoted.

They both burst into fits of laughter, but she threw her box into the basket anyway. She told herself that it was a joke. Something she was doing to make Fang nervous. But she couldn't help getting butterflies in her stomach as she buried it underneath the bread.

At the checkout, Fang poured the contents of the basket onto the conveyor belt and met her eyes. That one-shared glance managed to make her ears turn pink.

"Hey Max, I didn't think I'd see you here," an instantly recognizable voice practically purred.

Max turned slowly, clutching Fang's arm to stop herself from doing something stupid.

"Hi Lissa," Max said in the sweetest voice she could manage. "Hi Angel."

"We just had a makeover. How does it look, Fang?" she asked, ignoring Max and reaching over to touch Fang.

"I think you need your money back," he said, to everyone's surprise.

Max had to bite her lip to stop from laughing, but couldn't quite manage.

"Well, not everyone can appreciate the _natural_ look," Lissa sneered, giving Max an once-over.

"Not everyone _has_ to appreciate it. Just one person," Max replied, getting really angry really fast.

Fang placed an arm around her waist, which both reassured and restrained her.

At that moment, Lissa and Angel both stared at the cashier. Or, more accurately, at what was in the cashier's hand.

Max glanced over and saw the box of condoms being swiped through. The look on Lissa's face was priceless. Her mouth was open slightly and her eyes were wide.

The cashier chirped the price and Max moved to pay. She decided to ignore Lissa's look of outrage. The look changed, however. It transformed into a smirk that made Max's stomach churn.

"I think the school will be surprised to hear that you aren't as innocent as you look," Lissa said.

"I don't think I care what the school thinks," she replied.

"I think the school can eat shit," Fang added in that special way of his.

Lissa audibly huffed, which Max found amusing.

"If you ever want a real friend, Angel, you can always hang out with us," Max added as she took the receipt and grabbed the bag of breakfast goods. Fang pulled her closer to him as they walked away from Lissa.

"What a bitch," he muttered as he took the bag from her like a true gentleman.

**

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**

Fang and Max had walked to the supermarket instead of wasting fuel. As they made their way down the street, Max stopped and started staring. Fang stopped a few seconds later with one eyebrow raised at her.

"You know, if you're going to be my slave, I think you need an outfit," she said.

Fang followed her gaze and visibly stiffened. "You're kidding, right?" he asked, sounding panicked.

Max stared into the shop window and grinned. 'Olga's Costume Store' was printed above a mannequin that was wearing a French maid costume. Max grabbed Fang's hand before he could bolt and dragged him into the store.

She pushed him onto a chair and started riffling through a rack of maid's costumes. She pulled out a size she thought might fit Fang and grinned at him. He looked slightly sick, like he was about to throw up any second now.

"Please don't make me do this," he pleaded.

She ignored him and pulled him into the dressing room out the back.

"You should just try it on. You promised to do whatever I said, remember?" She used the puppy dog eyes on him.

"I am going to kill you," he said, reluctantly taking the costume from her.

She left the room while he got dressed and riffled around for her phone. When she found it, she turned it on and checked her messages. One more missed call from her mother. She ignored it.

Fang poked his head out of the curtain and she took that as her cue to enter. He looked ridiculous in the costume, which was basically a black dress with a white frilly apron. He didn't look happy, so she didn't insist on him wearing the frilly little cap.

Without any warning, she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo. He glared at her with so much heat that she nearly ran for cover.

"You have ten seconds to convince me why I shouldn't make you wear this costume on the walk home," she said sweetly.

His eyes went darker than usual and his body lost all its tension. The change was startling, and she started to question whether this was a good idea or not.

With a grace that made her heart beat faster, Fang moved towards her. He brought up his arms to form a cage around her, effectively blocking her in.

His hands moved down her body until they reached her own hands. Her breathing hitched and she was very aware of how loud her heartbeat was. His hands clasped hers and, in a move too swift to see, pinned them above her head. His face moved extremely close hers until his lips were only a millimeter from hers.

He eased one of his legs through hers, creating a friction that was enough to have her panting. With chagrin, she realised that he hadn't even kissed her yet.

"Do I have to wear this costume outside?" he asked in a sexy voice she'd never heard before. She swallowed.

His breath caressed her lips teasingly.

"Umm, no?"

"Good answer," he said as he abruptly pulled away from her. In seconds he'd pulled his jeans up under the dress and pulled the dress over his head.

Now, he was shirtless and she was still gasping against the wall.

He held up her phone and started hitting buttons, no doubt deleting the photo she'd managed to take of him. She had no idea how he'd gotten it from her, but she _had_ been kind of distracted.

She was left with only one thought: _how did Fang manage to be so damn sexy in a maid's costume?_

He pulled on his shirt, much to her disappointment (she'd been enjoying the view) and smirked at her.

"Ready to go?" he asked, raising a brow and smirking simultaneously.

"You didn't even kiss me," Max said, still a little dazed.

"Was I meant to?" he asked. Now he was just being cocky.

She grumbled something obscene under her breath as they exited the changing room.

**

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**A/N: That was only part 1 of slavery. I need heaps of ideas for the next chapter. What would you like to see Fang do? **

**Also, that wasn't too much fluff, was it? I'm a huge fan of FAX, so I hope I didn't overdo it. **


	14. Made Slave, pt 2

**A/N: Yes, I'm still alive! I'm also very very VERY sorry that I haven't updated in so long. It has been soooo busy that I hardly have time to sleep, let alone write. But, it was my birthday recently so I would greatly appreciate it if you forgave me. ****I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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_I'm not the one that you want_

_I'll always let you down_

_And I'm pretty sure that you've caught on_

_And you can say that "Oh,_

_I'm just feeling sorry for myself."_

_-Intensity in Ten Cities, Chiodos_

**

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**

**Chapter Fourteen – Made Slave, pt 2**

**Fang's POV**

The bacon and eggs tasted like everything good in the world. Fang was eating with Max, laughing over a forkful of egg, and everything finally felt right. It felt so natural to be with her. It made him sad to think that she might someday leave him. After all, he was a poor nobody, and she was Jeb and Valencia's daughter.

"This breakfast is amazing," Max enthused as she shoveled a piece of toast into her mouth.

"I don't really think it can be counted as breakfast anymore. It's nearly lunch time."

"The time of day doesn't change how good it tastes," Max rebutted.

Fang flicked a piece of egg at her.

"Hey!" she cried out indignantly.

He got a face full of bacon after that.

"I'm not going to waste any more of this food on your face, seeing as it tastes so good," Max told him just before eating a piece of bacon. He was kind of glad that he wouldn't have to clean up after a food fight.

**

* * *

**

**Iggy's POV**

Iggy stared at the mobile phone in his hand, wondering how on earth he was going to make this next phone call. His gut was clenched and his palms were sweating just thinking about it. Before he could back out, he flipped his phone open and scrolled down to a specific name.

He got voicemail.

"Hey Ella, I was just wondering if we could meet up sometime soon. I have something I want to talk to you about. I was thinking we could go to the park near your house today. Anyway, call me back when you get this."

He snapped the phone shut and wondered for the millionth time whether he was doing the right thing. Hesitating, he opened the phone again and looked at the photo on his screen. Ella was smiling up at him while he made a face. The photo was taken when they were out on their first date. He felt a stab of guilt just below his heart and quickly snapped the phone shut again.

He nearly dropped it when it started to ring.

"That was quick," he said.

"I was in the shower and just missed your call. What's up?" Ella asked. Her voice was happy and he could tell that she didn't know anything was wrong with him.

"Meet me at the park near your house at 2?"

"Okay. I hope it's something romantic," she replied sweetly.

His gut twisted.

"I'll see you then."

He pictured Ella's face and wondered why he was deliberately torturing himself. Then he pictured Nudge and felt a deep pull in his chest. How did his life become so tragic?

**

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**

**Fang's POV**

"So, you know how your favourite place is the cave," Max said as they walked hand in hand.

"My favourite place is wherever you are," Fang said just to rile her up.

She punched his arm. "Don't be cheesy."

He grinned at her and was rewarded with a roll of her eyes.

"Anyway, I thought I'd take you to one of my favourite places," Max continued, as if he hadn't said anything.

"Isn't the cave your favourite place as well?" he asked, truly curious.

"One of them," she replied. "It has a lot of history for us – good and bad." She gave him a look that he had no trouble interpreting.

"Okay, so where is your favourite place?" he asked.

"Well, we're standing in front of it."

His head snapped up to take in the scenery. He'd been so absorbed in Max that he hadn't been paying attention to where they were going. They'd ventured into the forest that bordered the top of the cliff near Max's house. In front of them was a tree house that looked like it'd seen better days. The wood looked sturdy, but it was covered in leaves and what looked like bat shit.

"Wow," he said. It was an impressive tree house.

"It's been here since we've owned the house. I found it one day when I was about seven and promised I wouldn't show it to anybody. It would be my little secret. But I wanted to share it with you so many times. I suppose today's the day I finally got my courage up."

He studied it for another minute, thinking back to when he and Max were kids.

"I was hoping you could help me fix it up. I haven't been here in so long. It's kind of run down now. Plus, you are my slave for the day."

"Max, I would love to help. Even if I wasn't your slave, I'd still help."

"Thanks, Fang."

She walked over to a pile of stuff he hadn't noticed before. He saw what looked like a chair and some bedding material. More trinkets were hiding underneath the larger furniture.

"I started dragging some stuff out here the other day. I want this to be my sanctuary when the cave is too far away," she explained.

"Well, there's some good stuff here." He tapped the wood of the tree house. "The wood seems sturdy. All we have to do is clean it up and arrange some of this furniture."

She pointed to an assortment of cleaning utensils leaning against a nearby tree. He grinned and grabbed a broom.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked her with a smirk.

**

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**

**Iggy's POV**

"Hey Iggy," Ella said as he met her at the swings. She hugged him and he held her longer than necessary.

"What's going on? You seem tense."

He should have given her more credit. She might be a little naïve, but she wasn't stupid. She knew something was going on.

"I don't think we should date anymore," he blurted before he could think about what he was going to say. He cringed at his lack of tact and wanted to slap his forehead.

Ella blinked her eyes at him for about a minute before she found her voice.

"Why?"

The one question he couldn't answer truthfully. He didn't want to tell her about Nudge.

He swallowed.

"Just tell me, Iggy," she demanded. He could see tears brimming in her eyes and knew that the total impact of his words was only moments away.

"I like you as a friend, but I just can't see this relationship going anywhere. I think we should just go back to being friends before it's too late. It's easier this way."

"That's stupid! What's the point of having any relationship, then! I didn't expect us to get married or anything, but I thought we'd last a bit longer than this!"

"If we aren't going to get married, then what's the problem?" he asked, knowing instantly that it was the wrong thing to say.

She looked at him for a long time. Tears started to run silently down her cheeks as she gave him a look that was intensely uncomfortable.

"Are you telling me the whole truth?" she asked.

He swallowed again.

"Is there someone else?"

He swallowed for the third time.

"Ella, I just don't think it's going to work. Can we leave it at that?"

She started sobbing. He tried to pull her into a hug, but she pushed him away. Without another word, she started running back towards her house. He should not have been surprised. After all, that's why he chose a location so close to her house. He couldn't bear the thought of having to drive her home after such a situation.

He felt sick, like he was going to throw up all his insides. He could picture his stomach twitching on the grass with a lung just beside it. He'd reduced a girl he liked to tears. He must be a horrible person.

He felt like shit.

**

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**Fang's POV**

After sweeping the leaves and scrubbing the wood, the tree house resembled a house again. They'd arranged the furniture, placing a couple of cushions in the corner to sit on and a mattress in the opposite corner. Max had even brought blankets and a large cooler to use as a temporary fridge. There had already been a table in the tree house; they'd just cleaned it until it was spotless. Fang had also strengthened the wooden ladder so that he was sure it wouldn't break and leave Max stranded out here.

"It looks awesome," Max said. They were both standing on the ground, peering up at the house.

"Come on," she said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him up the ladder.

Max jumped onto the mattress and pulled him down with her. The next thing Fang knew, Max was kissing him.

"I knew you were good with your hands," she said between kisses.

He smirked and placed his hand on her hip, massaging small circles.

She pushed up against him until their whole bodies were flush against each other.

"I'm sick of trying to avoid what we have, Fang. When you kiss me, I feel so alive that sometimes I wonder if I'm even breathing when you're not around. I don't want you to move on to other girls. I don't want you to ever stop wanting to be with me. I don't care about social status or my mother anymore. I just want to be with the person who makes me happy."

He kissed her throat and then placed another kiss over her heart.

"You own my heart," was all he said.

She huffed in mock annoyance. "How come you can say how you feel in one sentence and I need a whole speech to explain myself?"

"I don't really think that matters at the moment," he said, kissing the corner of her mouth.

"Oh, right," she said as she started to kiss him again.

After a minute, she placed her hands on both sides of his head and made him look her in the eye.

"Fang."

"Yes?"

"I want you to make love to me."

**

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**

**A/N: A bit shorter than usual, but I think you can see why. I know I'm evil. I should be plenty motivated to write the next chapter. Of course, reviews never hurt. **


	15. Leading Lines

**A/N: I'm pretty nervous and self-conscious about this chapter. I hope you find it meets your expectations. Please be gentle. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not Maximum Ride.**

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_Let them say. Let them say._

_Let them say what they please…_

_You won't be leaving my arms, ever. I promise you that._

_Even if you want me to let go, honey._

_Even if you want me to let go._

_You won't be leaving my arms, ever. I promise you that._

_Even if you want me to let go, honey._

_Even if you say the things that make me want to lose you._

_-Lexington, Chiodos_

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**Chapter Fifteen – Leading Lines**

**Fang's POV**

"_Fang?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I want you to make love to me."_

With shaking hands and a throbbing heart, Fang gentle pulled Max up so that he could look her in the eye.

"Max, you don't have to do this. It's not about sex for me."

"It's not about sex for me either," she replied. He looked into her eyes and saw an innocence there that he hadn't seen since they were kids. She really wanted him to do this. She really trusted him with her virginity.

Suddenly, he felt sick. She was giving him this thing that she'd guarded for years. Would he hurt her? He couldn't bear it if she was hurt. Would she like it? All these questions swirled around his head. It sure was a big responsibility to be in love.

Love. There, he'd said it. Well, more like thought it. Of course he loved her. He'd loved her since they were kids. He'd never felt this way about anyone else. Not with any of the girls he'd slept with. He'd never had this kind of pressure put on him about sex before, either. Maybe that was what would make this different. After all, Max wasn't the type of girl you had a one-night stand with. Max was a woman to be loved and cherished. She was his Max. His angel. He could practically see the wings sprouting from her back.

If only he could say those three little words to her. He'd already told her that she owned his heart. Wasn't that the same thing? Wasn't that a little bit more creative than 'I love you'?

"I don't want you to feel pressured into anything," he told her, just to make sure that she believed him.

"Fang, you're ruining the mood," she said lightly, and kissed him.

The kiss was hot, slow and measured. It was a kiss designed to make him forget about everything except her. It was working, too. One second he was protesting, the next he couldn't even remember his own name.

"Wait, I'm being serious," he said, pulling away from her. His heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird's wings, and his breaths were just as quick.

"Fang, take the hint. I want you. I'm ready." She looked at him with earnest eyes and a small smile, as if she found this whole ordeal amusing.

She kissed him again. This time it was fast and passionate. It left him breathless and hot and like he'd just run a marathon. He found the strength, however, to kiss her again. And again. And again.

He feathered butterfly kisses along her neck and slowly lifted her shirt up. She was beautiful. He kissed her bra straps, and then nudged the straps off her shoulders. It was black and lacy, which was the opposite of what he had expected.

She drew his shirt over his head then, and kissed his chest. She was shaking from nerves, so he kissed her until she wasn't shaking anymore. Her hands were running all over his body. Her delicate fingers felt like everything good in the world.

"What's that?" she asked, breathless.

She was looking at his shoulder, where the tip of his tattoo was showing. She sat up straight and moved around to his back. He felt her warm hands start to trace his tattoo.

"When did you get it?" she asked, awe colouring her voice.

"Not that long ago. Probably four months," he replied, getting lost in the feel of her hands on his oversensitive skin.

"It's beautiful."

Four months ago, he'd had someone tattoo wings onto his back. His back was covered with big black lines that depicted feathers. He'd seen the design and immediately fallen in love with it. If he could have wings, they'd have to be big and black. There was no other way he'd have it.

The lines led Max's fingers down to his middle back. She lingered there for a moment, before circling them around his waist. The next thing he knew, she was undoing his belt and slowly pulling it out of the loops of his jeans.

She moved around the front again and placed a tender kiss on his throat. He'd never known that getting kissed on the throat could be so sexy.

He kicked off his pants and was only left in his boxers. He'd never felt this exposed with any of his other lovers before. With them, it wasn't anything special. Now he felt as if he were in a life or death situation. It was that important.

He crawled over her, pushing her back against the mattress. He ran his hands up her legs until he got to her waist. He quickly undid her pants and slowly rolled them down her creamy white legs. She spread her hands out against his back and he rolled his muscles just to make her appreciate them that much more. She grinned and pulled him even closer to her.

He took a moment to appreciate her form spread out in front of him. Her underwear matched her bra. He kissed her bellybutton before he kissed the edge of her underwear.

She reached around her back and undid her bra. He slowly peeled it from her skin, keeping eye contact with her the whole time. He didn't want her to get uncomfortable.

He brushed his hand down the side of her body and watched as she shivered. She was quivering with nerves now, so he kissed her breasts to give her time to adjust. Her skin tasted like lavender soap and something soft – like feathers (if feathers had a taste). He pressed his body against hers until every inch of her was pressed against a part of him.

He slowly slid her underwear off, still maintaining eye contact. Her eyes were trusting. She expected him to take good care of her. God, he hoped that he didn't hurt her.

He kissed her thighs and removed his own underwear. Soon, he was inside her (with the convenient protection they'd bought earlier). He waited for her to get comfortable before he moved. Then he was kissing her everywhere as he moved inside her. She'd been in pain at first, but now she moved with him. Her fingers dug into his back and he made sure to kiss every single inch of her he could reach.

Breathing raggedly, they both came undone. She called his name as he buried his head into her neck.

They were silent for a moment as they both collected themselves. He pressed kisses to her neck as he waited for her to say something.

"Wow," she murmured. She turned so that she could look him in the eye. Then they were kissing again.

She kissed the corner of his mouth as she ran her fingers up and down his chest.

"Can we do that again?" she asked with a small blush.

He grinned and kissed her. Of course, that wasn't the only thing he did. Again. And again.

**

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**

"How are you feeling?" he asked as they curled up under the covers. The sun had risen and neither of them had slept a wink.

"Mmmm," Max murmured, snuggling up against him.

He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"I have no idea. Morning," he replied.

They both lay in silence for a moment, basking in the feel of being pressed up against each other.

"Shit!" Fang exclaimed, sitting bolt upright.

"What?" Max said, startled.

"We have school this morning."

"Shit!" Max exclaimed.

They both jumped up and started gathering their clothes. Fang couldn't help but watch Max as she pulled on her pants and threw on a shirt.

"You forgot to put your underwear back on," he remarked, giving her a smirk.

She grinned at him and didn't go to put them on. His mouth went dry at the thought of Max going commando.

"We have a test today," Max said, seeming to just remember.

"Shit!" they both said at the same time.

They walked to Fang's car, stopping every two meters to kiss. He couldn't keep his hands off of her. Even if they did have a test.

"Fang?"

"Yeah?"

"Have I told you I love you?" she asked.

He smiled at her gently. "Not in words."

"Well, I love you."

He kissed her.

"So, what do you think?"

"What do I think? I think I love you too."

"You _think_?"

"I _know_ I love you," he said, giving her another kiss.

"Good. Now let's go before we're late."

**

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**A/N: Sorry it's a bit short. But I wanted to get this chapter to you as soon as I had time to finish it. **

**A little bit cheesy. A little bit cliché. But I know that you guys secretly (and not so secretly) love that stuff. :P Hope you enjoyed. **


	16. Could Would Should

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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**Chapter Sixteen – Could Would Should**

**Iggy's POV**

It wasn't usual for Max to run late to school. Sure, Iggy could never tell if Fang was going to turn up for school or not. But Max? They had a test today!

Iggy started to sweat as the teacher began handing out test papers. His perfectly sharpened pencil was slippery. He couldn't help but inch forward in his seat to get a better view of the classroom door.

The door swung open and Max and Fang burst through the doors, panting. "Oh, thank God!" Max said with relief as they noticed the test hadn't started yet.

The teacher shook his head at them and gave them a test paper. He was old and didn't particularly care about whether his students were on time for tests. Iggy had a theory that Mr Bingham hid liquor somewhere on school grounds. Iggy might need some hard liquor after this morning.

Fang and Max sat down in seats next to each other. They kept sharing these weird little looks, like they had an inside joke. Iggy was still twitchy from worrying about them. Now he felt left out on top of that. What on Earth was going on between those two?

"Eyes forward. You can begin now," Mr Bingham instructed.

Iggy glanced at Max and Fang before he hurriedly started his test.

**

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**

"How'd you guys go?" Iggy asked as they filed out of the classroom together. Everyone was comparing answers and making heaps of noise.

"Probably failed," they both said at the same time.

Iggy eyed them as they shared a glance and smiled.

"How 'bout you?" Max asked, tearing her eyes away from Fang's.

"I was so worried about you two that I couldn't concentrate! I probably failed. Do you know how important that test was to me? I'm going to fail now! And all because you guys are making googly-eyes at each other! What the hell is going on between you two?"

"Relax," Fang said, which just infuriated him that much more.

"What's going on?" he yelled.

Everyone turned to look at him with strange looks. He resisted the urge to hit his head against the wall.

Whispering, everyone started to turn away from Iggy. They obviously thought he was a whackjob.

"Nothing's going on," Max said soothingly, as if she thought he was going to attack at any moment.

"Don't lie to me! I deserve to know the truth!"

There was a silence that stretched for a long time.

"…Okay," Fang said. Then he grabbed Max and kissed her! Now everyone's attention was on them again.

Iggy couldn't draw his eyes away from the two of them kissing, even though he felt a little perverse. Fang was holding her like she was the most delicate thing in the world, but the kiss didn't lack any passion, that was for sure. Finally, he understood what was going on. They were in love.

He turned away and closed his eyes. It figured that Max and Fang could get together just as he'd dumped Ella. He wasn't stupid enough to think that he could just get together with Nudge. Ella would be heartbroken. It would take time.

At that moment, he couldn't stand the sight of Max and Fang.

They had everything he didn't.

**

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**Max's POV**

"Everyone's staring at us," Max whispered to Fang. She didn't really need to whisper, but she liked having an excuse to be close to Fang.

"What'd you expect? I all but molested you after that test," he said with a smirk.

"A test that we probably failed," she said pointedly.

"It was worth it," he said, kissing her temple. She didn't know what to do with this new affectionate Fang. He would hold her hand now, and kiss her in public. As they spoke, his hand was on her thigh underneath the table. It was a thrill to know that everyone who was eating lunch could see them.

It felt nice to be loved. She liked the little things as well, like the looks they would share. Sex had really changed everything. They were comfortable around each other, because seriously? - they'd already been naked together. You kind of had to be comfortable after something like that.

"I rang my father before. He's willing to interview you this afternoon," she told him.

He cringed. "I'm going to feel guilty the whole time," he admitted.

"Just don't blurt out that you slept with his daughter," she whispered, holding back laughter.

He groaned.

There was a shriek from across the room and Max and Fang jerked their heads up. Lissa was sitting at her usual table, yelling at Sam for spilling his drink on her. Max snickered.

"This is the worst day ever!" she screeched.

Sam was running about, trying to appease her. Angel was rolling her eyes and surreptitiously blocking her ears. Julia just smothered her giggles.

Suddenly, Lissa was looking over at Max with a glare meant to kill. Max stiffened, ready for a confrontation.

"It isn't supposed to be like this!" she screamed. "_I'm_ supposed to get the guy. _I'm_ supposed to be happy! You have no idea what you've started. I'll get you Maxine Ride! I swear it."

The room was deathly silent as everyone took in Lissa's words. She turned with a flick of her red hair and stormed out of the room, leaving a bunch of gaping teenagers behind her.

"What the…?" Max whispered.

The room burst into whispered conversations all at once, as if there had been some kind of silent signal.

"Apparently it's all your fault that Lissa's unhappy," Fang told her.

"What was that all about?" Nudge asked as she joined their table. Instead of taking the spare seat next to Iggy, she sat next to Max.

"I'm starting to wonder about her sanity," Max replied.

"So, what's with you two anyway?" Nudge demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

The warm feeling that shot through Max's chest was surprising. Even the thought of what was happening between her and Fang made her giddy. She was turning into a regular teenage girl! Next she'd be braiding Nudge's hair and painting her toes!

"They're in love," Iggy said quietly.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

He looked so forlorn that Max immediately felt bad. They'd been ignoring him all day, too caught up in their new romance.

"Are you okay?" Max asked.

"Yeah," he said with a world-weary sigh.

"Iggy, you can tell us," Fang prompted.

"I broke up with Ella," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes.

Nudge stiffened and gazed intently at Iggy, but he still wasn't meeting anyone's eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Max offered sincerely. She felt so ashamed of her and Fang's behaviour.

"It's okay, I just need some time," he said, angling his words at Nudge. Max watched to two of them with confusion, but decided to let it go.

**

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**Fang's POV**

_Oh God, he's going to know I've slept with his daughter. He'll know straight away_, Fang thought. He was a nervous wreck.

"Deep breaths," Max coached from the seat next to him. They were outside Jeb's office, waiting near his secretary's desk. Max was clasping his hand, which made him feel like everyone was staring at him. That was insane, however, because the only other person in the room was the secretary, and she was on the phone.

Why was Jeb so intimidating?

Jeb's door opened and Fang ripped his hand out of Max's, in case this angered Jeb.

"Fang?" he called, not looking happy at all. Fang gulped and received a reassuring nod from Max.

The office was large, with nice furnishings and an even nicer view. Jeb sat down behind his desk and gestured to a comfy looking seat for Fang.

"Do you have any experience with business?" Jeb asked, getting straight to the point.

"My father runs a business of sorts. I've witnessed how he manages things," Fang replied, only lying a little. He didn't know if his father's illegal business was what Jeb would consider as work experience.

"Are you hard working?"

"Absolutely, sir," he replied automatically.

Jeb continued to ask a series of questions. Fang could see by the look in his eyes that it was all routine. Fang wasn't standing out, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Jeb was blank, no doubt disinterested in the whole ordeal.

Every now and again, Fang would panic. He was sure that Jeb would find out that he'd taken his daughter's virginity.

Finally, Jeb started shuffling his papers, obviously drawing near to the end of his questioning. Suddenly, his eyes turned sharp and locked onto Fang. It was quite unnerving.

At that moment, Fang could understand exactly how Jeb was so successful. That look was the look of an amazing businessman. Jeb was smart. He could tell an asset from a drawback. With eyes like that, Fang could believe that his whole soul was being scrutinized.

He lifted his chin and met Jeb's gaze. Fang wasn't scared. He wasn't intimidated. If his father couldn't intimidate him, then Jeb Ride definitely couldn't.

The corners of Jeb's mouth lifted up approvingly.

"I'll let you know what I decide," Jeb said as a dismissal. Obviously, the most important part of the interview was Jeb's opinion of him.

"Thank you, sir," he said politely as he left the office. He made sure his back was straight and his head was high.

Max practically pounced on him as soon as he was out of the office.

"How'd it go?" she demanded.

Fang shrugged, but he couldn't help feeling proud of himself. Max saw the look on his face and smiled. She kissed his cheek and led him towards the elevator. She was proud too.

**

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**A/N: Sometimes I think I write too quickly. Like, the whole scene doesn't take very long. However, I think this is a good thing. I've read so many stories that drag out a scene until I just end up skipping half of it and getting to the good bits. That boring factor probably influences me a lot in my writing. It's also because of how badly I wanted to finish this chapter and get it out to you guys. Tell me your opinions anyway. **

**Also, this story is going to pick up again with Lissa. Mwahaha. The things I could do to her. **


	17. Revealing Revelations

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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Chapter Seventeen – Revealing Revelations **

**Iggy's POV**

"It's really quite gross," Nudge whispered to him as they sat at their usual lunch table. Fang and Max were sitting close together, talking.

"Nah, they deserve to finally be together," Iggy replied.

"Yeah, but _look_ at them."

"Nudge, if you think that's gross then there's something wrong with you. They're just talking. It's not like they're making out or whatever," Iggy replied, without looking up at her.

"Iggy." Her voice was serious. "I just want you to _look_ at something. You haven't met my eyes since you announced that you broke up with Ella."

"Don't," Iggy said as he played with his fork. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Iggy, _please_."

He stood up so quickly that his chair fell over. People looked over at him curiously, but quickly lost interest.

"Iggy, what's up?" Max asked.

Iggy ignored her and started walking towards the door.

"Nudge, what's going on?" Max asked, confused.

"I don't know," Nudge replied. He heard her stand up and knew she was following him. Couldn't she understand that he didn't want to face her?

"Leave me alone," he said over his shoulder.

She was still following.

Once he was out of the lunchroom, he started looking for a place he could hide. He spotted the cleaners' room and ducked inside. Nudge was too quick, however, and squeezed herself into the closet-sized room with him.

"Iggy, please look at me!" Nudge demanded.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because when I look at you I want to kiss you. But I can't kiss you because I just broke up with Ella and that would be wrong to her. I told her that there was no one else. I lied. So I have to make my lie true. There can't be anyone else. Not at the moment, anyway. It's too soon."

"I don't think I really understood what you just said," Nudge said softly.

"It's too soon to suddenly be with another girl! Ella would be crushed."

"Iggy, do you like me?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do," he replied with an exhaled breath.

"Then who cares? You could just talk to her and tell her what's going on. You've already hurt her feelings, maybe this will help her understand better."

"I can't do that."

"Fine. But I can't wait forever, Iggy. She's probably going to live in this town for a long time. You might see her every day – who knows? So how long do I have to wait until we can be together? Because I'm an impatient person, Ig."

He didn't reply.

Her cool hands touched his face and he flinched. She wasn't deterred, however. She angled his face so that he was looking at her. He instinctively shut his eyes, but immediately felt silly afterwards. He slowly opened them again and looked at her for the first time in days.

"I want to be with you now," she whispered.

He took in her beautiful face. Her eyes were begging him for something. He would give anything in the world to know what she was begging for.

"What do you want from me?"

"Do you really have to ask?" she said as she wet her lips.

He groaned, and then kissed her with all the passion he could muster. He'd been longing to kiss her since before he'd broken it off with Ella. It was better than he remembered.

She pushed up against him until their bodies were flush with each other. His hands wanted to touch her everywhere, but he settled for her beautiful hair. Her hands clutched his shirt, as if she would fall away from him at any moment.

He moved his hands to her sides and clutched her tightly. Then he spun her around so that she was against the wall. Their kiss grew even more passionate (if such a thing was possible).

"Iggy?"

They both froze in their spots and pulled away from each other. Iggy looked towards the now open door and his heart nearly fell out of his chest.

The person in the door turned and ran off.

Nudge burst into giggles, but Iggy just stepped away from her. His face was frozen in a look of despair.

"Iggy? What's wrong? Who was it?"

"It was Ella," he said in barely a whisper.

Nudge sobered up immediately. "Oh."

Iggy couldn't look at her anymore. Instead, he straightened out his clothes and left Nudge in the cleaners' closet. He had to find Ella.

**

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**Max's POV**

"Max, is that you?" Val called from the kitchen.

Who else would it be?

"Yeah, it's me," Max called back. She couldn't imagine what her mother was doing in the kitchen. She didn't have a domestic bone in her body. Unless she was trying to suck up to someone (i.e Jeb).

Val walked out of the kitchen holding a bottle of wine. Of course her mother would be in the kitchen getting intoxicated.

"Your father was home earlier. He told me that he was going to give a job to a young man. A young man named Fang."

Oh, shit.

"So Fang got the job?" Max asked, putting on a brave face. She had to remind herself that she didn't care what Val said anymore. Val wasn't going to be manipulating her any longer.

"_Yes_, Fang got the job," Val hissed, obviously pissed off. "I want to know why you organized a job interview in the first place. Are you and Fang…" Val shuddered, as if the mere thought of Fang and Max together would make her sick.

"Fang's my boyfriend," she replied boldly.

Val stiffened and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She composed herself after a long moment, but she couldn't hide her disgust.

"Come again?"

"Fang is my boyfriend. We love each other," Max said, making sure to enunciate each word slowly and carefully.

Val went pale.

"If you so much as spend one more second with that boy, I will take matters into my own hands."

"What are you going to do? Kill him?"

"…No. But I can make sure that he will never do well in life. He will be poor for as long as I live."

"Mother, it's a bit too late for that. Jeb has already hired him. Are you going to undermine your husband's authority? You don't own the company, Father does. And guess who is going to own it after Father? Me. You don't have any power over me. One day, I'll have all the power over you." Max smiled what was admittedly an evil smile.

"Get out of my house!" Val screeched.

Max smiled. "You don't own this house. You don't own anything. You're a pathetic gold-digger. You should be treating me nicely, because one day _I_ will own this house. And if you want to keep living here…well, that'll be up to me, won't it?"

"It will be a long time before you own anything, missy." Val preened herself as she grinned in victory.

"Actually, father's been setting things up for me. As soon as I turn eighteen, I will be working with dad in the company. I will also own some of our smaller houses outside of town. I'll have enough money to be completely independent. I won't need you anymore."

Val opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

"My life is already set up for me. And we both know that Father doesn't let you interfere with his job. He doesn't trust your judgment when it comes to business. But he trusts mine. So what does that make me? Important. What does that make you? Redundant." Max felt like a complete bitch, but it was about time that her mother knew what the stakes were. Max was the powerful one.

She smiled.

"I say that Fang deserves his new job."

**

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**Iggy's POV**

It was late and the school was deserted. Iggy had been moping around the science rooms, attempting to work on his assignment that was due next week. But he hadn't gotten much done. He was too busy being miserable.

He hated to think that Ella was really upset because of him. He hated hurting people. That's why he usually avoided people. The whole situation was so frustrating that he felt like making a bomb and blowing something up. He had always been a bit of a pyromaniac. Which he realised was a bit hypocritical since he didn't like hurting people. Not that he would ever blow anyone up…

Thinking about bombs made him feel a bit better.

Then he started to hear quiet sobbing. Great, now his subconscious was making him hear things just to make him feel guilty again.

Except it wasn't his subconscious.

He started to follow the sound until he came to an empty classroom. He peered through the window and ran a shaking hand through his hair. Ella was inside, sobbing on an empty desk.

To go in or not to go in? That seemed to be the question of the afternoon. He stood there deliberating for a moment before he decided to be a man about it. It's not like he could do anything worse to upset her today.

"Ella?" He slowly approached her desk so that he didn't scare her.

"Go away!" she sobbed.

He walked to the desk in front of her and pulled out the chair. He flipped it around and sat on it so that his arms were resting along the top of the seat. He felt cliché doing it, but he did it anyway.

"Can you just talk to me?"

"Fine, I'll talk to you!" she yelled, whipping her head up to look him in the eye. Her eyes were red and her hair was messy. She looked deranged. "You _lied_ to me. You said that there wasn't another girl! I should have known that it was Nudge! Were you making out with her while we were still together?" She broke down into sobs again.

"Ella," he said soothingly. "Ella, it wasn't like that. If you let me, I can tell you everything that happened."

She sniffled a few times before she nodded at him. "Fine, but I want the truth."

So Iggy told her everything. He told her about how he'd liked Nudge for a long time, but thought that she didn't feel the same. He told her that when she had come into his life he thought he could finally forget about Nudge and be with a girl that actually cared about him. He assured her that he really did want to date her. Then he told her about finding Nudge upset and how he's confessed his feelings to her and that she'd kind of returned them. He told her everything.

She was crying again by the end of his story. But at least she seemed to feel a bit better.

"You should have just told me, you big idiot!" she said as she wiped her eyes on her shirt.

"I know."

"So you were planning to wait before you started seeing her?" she asked.

"Of course, but I didn't plan on her attacking me in a closet," he admitted with a sly smile.

Ella actually laughed.

"Well, I would still appreciate it if you waited a little bit before you went public. But you have my blessing. I just want you to be happy," Ella said with a small sigh.

Iggy felt terrible. This girl wanted him to be happy? He felt like a complete jerk.

"Ella, I want you to be happy as well. Okay? Our relationship wasn't a lie."

"Yeah, thanks Iggy," she said with a small smile.

He kissed her on the forehead before he left the classroom. He couldn't help feeling better about the whole thing. He should never have underestimated Ella.


	18. Bitch Ditch

**A/N: I'm sorry I took so long to update. I was actually busy working on my friend's birthday present. I wanted to write a collection of short stories for her and I wanted them to be perfect. So I admit I kind of ignored this story for a while, even though I knew some of my fans would be annoyed. But hopefully she really liked her present! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride. **

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**Chapter Eighteen – Bitch Ditch**

**Max's POV**

For once, the lunchroom wasn't awkward – probably because Iggy hadn't arrived yet. Nudge sat in her usual spot, munching on some weird looking celery sticks. She'd gradually stopped visiting the other groups like she used to, and now Max could say that Nudge was definitely a member of their group. She knew that Nudge loved to belong somewhere.

Fang was going through his notes for his next exam. His brow was puckered in the cutest way. She liked how even though he was obviously concentrating, he still placed his hand on her leg just to keep some contact with her. Her obvious case of love-sickness annoyed her, however. But there wasn't really anything she could do about that.

Max was people watching and trying to decide if she would miss this place when she graduated. She didn't think so….

Iggy arrived a few moments later, carrying a box filled with God knows what. He dropped it on the table and grinned at them.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's in the box?" Max asked, trying to peer over the top.

"The drama department needed some people to help make the props. Thus, I have enlisted you three to help me." He grinned again.

"Iggy, I have a test next," Fang said, obviously irritated.

"We can do it after school then."

"I have band practice," Nudge said apologetically.

"And I have to go to work," Fang added, giving Max a sly look.

"Okay, what about tomorrow morning? They wanted them done by the end of the week. We can work on them throughout the week and drop it in sometime on Friday."

It was obvious that Iggy really wanted to help out. Max felt bad for him, so she decided to speak up before Fang could come up with a new excuse.

"That sounds fine, Ig."

Iggy gave her a grateful look and slumped into the chair next to Nudge. He started talking to her and Max watched them for a moment. Nudge seemed surprised to have Iggy paying her any attention. Max smiled to herself as she watched the pair.

"I don't want to spend all my free time painting toy swords or whatever the hell it is we're doing," Fang whispered into her ear. The hand that was on her leg started tracing patterns on her skirt-covered leg. "I could think of much better ways to spend my time."

Max slapped his hand away and mock-scowled at him. "Fang," she warned in a low voice.

He smirked. It was so infuriating when he did that!

"Well guess what," she said in retaliation, just because she was feeling evil.

"What?"

"No sex until every single prop is perfect and delivered to the drama department."

His mouth twitched into a frown.

"What?" he snapped.

"You heard me," she replied.

He stared at her for a few moments, searching her face. Then he smirked again. He leant forward so that she could feel his breath against her ear. "We'll see if you can keep to your word," he whispered. His lips touched the edge of her ear for one second and she shivered. She could feel him smirking against the side of her face. Then he kissed her cheek, picked up his pen, and resumed studying. He didn't even give her a sideways glance.

How was it that he could manage to completely unravel her with only one sentence? It was so unfair!

Max was abruptly cut off from her musings when she heard a scream.

"What the hell is your problem?" Lissa screeched. The lunchroom went quiet as everyone stared at a dripping wet redhead. Angel was looking sheepish and slightly scared. She was holding a half-empty coke bottle in her hand. So that explained the screeching teenager.

"I'm sorry. It was an accident!" Angel said.

Lissa slapped her and stalked off towards the bathroom. There was a collective gasp as everyone stared at the red mark developing on Angel's cheek.

"It's on, bitch!" Angel called out after her.

Lissa flipped her the bird over her shoulder.

"Well, that was interesting," Max murmured to no one in particular as the other students recommenced their conversations.

**

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**

"Angel?" Max asked as she approached the other girl. Angel slammed her locker and glared at Max.

"What do you want?"

"I just want to know what happened with Lissa."

"I spilt my drink on her because she said something not so nice about my boyfriend. Then I said it was an accident. She didn't believe me. Are you happy now?" Angel asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I was actually wondering if there…if there was anything you could tell me about her."

Angel smirked. "I'll tell you that she slept with Daniel Cooper so that she could cheat off of his History exam."

Max's mouth gaped open. Daniel Cooper was the ugliest kid in school. However, he was also one of the smartest. Max couldn't believe that Lissa would go so far as to sleep with him just to copy his answers in a test.

"I plan to tell the whole school. In fact, I advise that you pass this information on to the first person you see," Angel said.

"What did she say about your boyfriend?" Max asked.

"My ex-boyfriend. She told me she slept with him and that she thought it was her duty to tell me that he wasn't faithful. What a bitch."

Max felt a stab of sympathy for Angel. "She can be ruthless sometimes," Max agreed.

**

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**

In her next class, Max found herself telling one of the girls all about Lissa's conquest. She felt a little but guilty for participating in Lissa's demise, but couldn't bring herself to stop talking. After all, there was no way that Lissa could bounce back from sleeping with Daniel Cooper. _No one_ could bounce back after sleeping with him.

Plus, it wasn't like Lissa didn't deserve a little bit of payback.

**

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**

By lunchtime the next day the rumours had made it to just about everyone in the school. When Angel entered the lunchroom she didn't make her way to her usual table. Instead, she appeared in front of Max's table.

"Can I join you?" she asked, looking a bit timid.

Max didn't say anything, just made room for her.

"Another person to help with the drama props," Iggy said with glee. Max could picture him rubbing his hands together with excitement.

Soon after Angel joined them, Lissa entered the lunchroom. A burst of whispers erupted as everyone turned to watch her. There were some giggles throughout the crowd of teenagers. Max could practically hear Daniel Cooper giving a detailed version of what happened between them.

Lissa held her head up high and took her usual spot at the center table. As soon as she sat down all of her friends stood up and moved away. It was a not-so-subtle way of letting her know that she was on her own.

Lissa stood up and stared at everyone in the room. "Don't you have more to do with your lives than talk about me?" she shouted. Her voice reverberated off of the walls in the total silence that enveloped the room.

Lissa's eyes latched onto Max's table with so much hatred that Max half-expected the table to burst into flames.

Lissa threw her chair away with a shriek and pounded up to her table. Her fists were clenched and her knuckles were white. Max was just a bit scared of her.

"Are you happy now?" she yelled. It was obvious that she wasn't just talking to Angel, but Max as well.

"You're a real bitch," she told Angel. Then her eyes switched to Max and she had never seen so much hatred before. "You're an even bigger bitch. You act like you're all high and mighty, but guess what! You're the same as me. I know you were spreading the rumours about me. Did you even stop to think if they were true? Did you even think about how this would affect me?"

"You've been horrible to me. It's not my fault if you finally got a bit of backlash," Max said, except she wasn't so sure anymore.

"What gives you the right to socially ruin me?" Lissa barked.

"The same thing that gave you the right to socially ruin _me_!" Max yelled. She took in a deep breath and clenched her fists. She was about two seconds away from punching the redhead.

Lissa clenched her teeth and curled her lip back. "I hope you think about your actions when I slit my wrists with a razor because I can't live with the rumours anymore," Lissa whispered.

Max's mouth dropped open and he heart stopped. Slit her wrists?

Then Lissa grabbed Fang's shirt and yanked him out of his chair. Then she attacked his mouth with hers. Max was too stunned to do anything, and apparently so was Fang. It took him a second before he pushed her away and spat on the ground. Lissa just smiled like a lunatic and walked towards the door. Her hips were swinging the whole way.

"She wouldn't really kill herself, would she?" Max asked Fang.

"She's doesn't have the courage," Fang replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Max really hoped he was right. She wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if Lissa really killed herself.

Fang took her hand and rubbed soothing circles on her skin.

**

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**A/N: I apologize if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes in this chapter. I didn't edit it with as much precision as I usually do. **


	19. Harmless Hope

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maximum Ride**

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**Chapter Nineteen – Harmless Hope**

**Lissa's POV**

Lissa was used to people looking at her. She was beautiful and extremely popular. What was not to stare at? But today everyone was staring at her for a different reason. She was the laughing stock of the entire school. So she slept with Daniel Cooper, the ugliest guy in the school (and maybe the universe). Why was that so bad? She'd passed her test, hadn't she? It was simply a calculated move to get the best results for her exam.

Apparently people didn't see it that way.

She had told Max that she would kill herself. But she knew that was a lie. She couldn't consciously harm herself. It went against every single one of her survival instincts. She was a survivor. And she was going to show Max that she wasn't done yet.

Lissa walked into the lunchroom and met complete silence. Everyone was staring at her. The whispers started after ten seconds of silence. She counted. When she noticed that Max's table was empty she felt furious. That bitch couldn't even hang around to see the damage she'd done! Lissa had never been a social outcast before.

She was strong, however, and decided that she wasn't going to run away from her peers. She was going to hold her chin up high. She wasn't weak.

She sat at her usual table – the one in the middle with the best view of the room. She ate her apple and drank her juice until every single morsel was gone. She even took out her textbook and pretended to study. Anything to avoid her classmates' eyes. She not be weak, but she definitely wasn't feeling her strongest. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up because everyone was staring at her.

She hated high school.

**

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**Max's POV**

Painting swords and decorating shields was boring. She was starting to see Fang's reason for wanting to pull out of helping with the props. He was looking at her now, giving her an irritated look. She smirked at him because she couldn't help it. She'd taken up smirking lately. It was just one of his habits that she'd picked up.

"Why can't the drama department do their own props?" Angel asked sullenly. Angel had been accepted into their group very quickly. She just slid right in and acted like they'd been friends for ages.

"We need more help," Iggy conceded.

"I'll call my brother," Angel replied, whipping out her phone and dialing a number. We all looked at each other and jus shrugged. One more pair of helpings hands wouldn't hurt.

We'd barely gotten through a quarter of the props when Angel's brother showed up. He looked a lot like her with blonde hair and a baby face. He introduced himself as the Gasman, which Max thought was weird. But she didn't comment.

Fang was looking at the Gasman like he knew him from somewhere. She gave him a questioning look, but he just ignored her. Obviously they'd met before. And not in very happy circumstances.

With an extra pair of hands the work began to flow past a lot quicker. Max couldn't help noticing little things about Fang however. Like the way he rolled his sleeves up to reveal the taught muscles of his forearms. She was staring at his arms for a solid five minutes before she realised. She quickly tore her arms away from him before he noticed. Judging by the smirk on his face, he'd already noticed.

They got through about a half of the props before the bell rang for class. Max was glad to get out of that small room. She was beginning to feel like she would pounce of Fang at any second. Could no one else feel the sexual tension slowly building between them? Hopefully not. Because that would just be embarrassing.

When Fang brushed up against her on the way out she wondered if she really _could _resist him. Actually, she was wondering if she _wanted _to resist him.

As if he could read her mind, Fang pushed her back into the empty classroom and shut the door behind him. The smile on his face spoke of wicked things to come.

She shivered.

**

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**Lissa's POV**

Lissa was starting to really feel the pressure. No matter what she was doing, everyone was staring at her. Her friends were ignoring her and the teachers were giving her weird looks, like they didn't quite understand what was going on. She was getting fed up of all the attention. Which was, admittedly, a first for her.

Instead of going to her next class she decided to skip. She got in her ridiculously expensive convertible and sped all the way home. If she got pulled over she would just bribe the cop…

Her father was still at work when she stormed into the house. Her mother was upstairs in her bedroom, screwing the pool boy. Or someone else of questionable background. Faithfulness was considered blasé in her household. To be faithful was to be boring.

No wonder she had so many issues.

In her bathroom Lissa's eyes landed briefly on her razor. She wondered if she really could drag the jagged edge over her vein and spill all that blood. She shuddered just thinking about it. Lissa would survive this. Even if she had to start all over again.

The tears came then. She'd been holding them back all day, but now they just spilled from her eyes without any thought to her pride. It was like they had a life of their own. She sobbed for a while, taking pity on herself and her now-lousy life. Of course she blamed Max and Angel for all of this. But if she was being truthful to herself, it was just as much her fault. Maybe this was fate's way of telling her that she needed to change.

She snorted at that. _Yeah right! _

After examining herself in the mirror, she wiped her eyes and retouched her makeup. She brushed her hair and pouted at herself in the mirror. She was feeling so much better already.

She pulled out her suitcase from under her bed and started filling it with all of her clothes ad essentials. She'd already decided that she wasn't going to stay in this god-forsaken town. Ari was a waste of space. What she needed was a controlled environment. Somewhere that would appreciate her uniqueness. Like a boarding school.

She smiled to herself as she did the zip of her suitcase up. A nice expensive boarding school would do nicely.

**

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**Fang's POV**

"Fang, what are you doing?" Max asked, looking for all the world like a cornered animal. He could easily picture her growing wings and flying far far away.

He shrugged his shoulders and couldn't stop the grin that took over his face.

"This isn't funny," she said sternly. She looked sexy when she was trying to be stern.

"We both know that you don't really mean that. You want this as much as I do."

"I do not!" she exclaimed indignantly.

He smirked. "No?"

He took steps towards her until she was backed up against the wall and he was only an inch away from her.

She closed her eyes, as if pretending he wasn't there would make it true. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. Then her temple. Then her ear.

"Fang, stop," she said, but her voice was a lot less firm than it was before. In fact, she sounded rather dreamy.

"Stop what? This?" he whispered in her ear before he gently brushed his lips against hers. It was the barest touch – just enough to make her want more.

"Mmmm," she mumbled.

"Or this?" he asked as he placed his hand on her hip and moved it up under her shirt across her stomach.

Her lips parted just a tiny bit.

"Or this?" he asked as he finally kissed her with all the passion he'd been withholding. She pressed against him and twined her arms around his neck, pulling roughly at his hair.

He pulled away and waited until she opened her eyes and looked at him. She raised her eyebrow in the most tantalizing way.

"You wanted me to stop," he said by way of explanation.

She actually pouted.

He started drawing patterns onto her hip with his right hand. Her eyes clouded over briefly before they came back into focus. She smirked at him.

"I just didn't want you to do this," she murmured as she ran her hand up over his shirt and followed it with wet kisses over the fabric. He tensed with desire.

"Or this," she continued as she traced her hand around the waistband of his pants and let her fingers slide beneath.

Without wasting another second he was kissing her roughly and running his hands all over her body. He knew then that he was playing a dangerous game with Maxine Ride. She could always reciprocate his moves with moves of her own. He wasn't really sure who would win this round.

They pulled away from each other, panting. Her hands were still just under his waistband and his were tracing the line of her panties under her skirt.

"Truce?" he whispered raggedly.

She nodded her head, presumably incapable of speech.

Without further ado, he had her on top of the teacher's desk within seconds. He pulled the blinds shut and locked the door because he had no intention of becoming an exhibitionist. Their clothes were next on the agenda, since he'd deemed them a nuisance. Soon he was kissing Max again and hoping against all hope that they would be together forever.

After all, they'd already been through some pretty tough obstacles. Was it too much to ask that they overcome any more that they faced in the future?

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**Lissa's POV**

Lissa decided that she was going to like this boarding school. The students seemed to resemble sheep. That is, they seemed inclined to follow a chain of command rather than actually thinking for themselves. Yes, Lissa thought that she would have no problem taking control of this school.

The only slight glitch was the fact that it was an all-girls school.

Lissa pursed her lips as she walked towards her new school. Perhaps becoming a lesbian would be a nice change of pace from all the guys she'd dated or lusted after.

One could only hope.

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**A/N: Next chapter is the epilogue. I can't believe this story is almost over. I hope you guys have enjoyed it. I appreciate everyone's support. :)**


	20. Epilogue

**Chapter Twenty – Epilogue**

**Max's POV**

The Hall was decked out in white and blue – the school colours. Some students had painstakingly set out a few hundred chairs in neat rows. Those chairs were now occupied with proud camera-wielding parents and joyous grandparents. If Max squinted she could just make out her parents' stern faces. They kind of stood out from the sea of loving adults.

She spotted Fang sitting with the other students towards the front of the Hall. His shock of dark hair was noticeable even in the most extreme situations. Either that or she was just really good at picking him out of a crowd. He looked sexy in dress pants and a nice shirt. But she thought he looked sexy in just about anything.

"Are you nervous?" Nudge asked, peering out at the crowd. They were both behind the stage, waiting to do their respective parts.

"A little bit," Max admitted.

"You'll be great."

"I still can't believe that I was chosen to do a speech. I mean, graduation is a pretty big deal. I hope I don't screw it up."

"Yeah, that'd be pretty bad," Nudge said with a straight face.

"Not helping!"

Nudge laughed and gave her a shove. "Don't worry, it's not like anyone's actually going to remember this day," Nudge joked. Max glared at her.

There was a sudden hush as the lights dimmed and the Vice Principal started her speech. Max was too busy chewing her lip and worrying to pay attention. But she figured it would be boring anyway. Then she worried that her speech would be just as boring. Oh God, why was she chosen for this?

The ceremony went past in a blur of speeches and performances. Nudge performed a wonderful solo on her violin. The music started off fast and upbeat. It was incredible how talented she was. Then it mellowed down until it was legato. Max thought that the song symbolised the end of their high school experience. It started off with energy and drive and now it was slowing down in preparation to finish. It might have just been her, though. Nudge got a standing ovation. She deserved it.

It was Max's turn next. She walked over to the podium and nearly had a heart attack (she was that nervous). She calmed down, however, when she saw Iggy give her an encouraging thumbs-up from the crowd. She was too nervous to find Fang in the crowd.

With a big breath she started to talk. To her amazement, the words just began to flow. She didn't even have to look down at her notes. She just talked passionately about the students that she'd grown up with. "The experiences I've had during high school will stay with me for a lifetime. The mistakes I've made during high school will guide my decisions for a lifetime. And lastly, the friendships I've made during high school will _last_ a lifetime," she finished. She believed those last few lines summed up everything she had to say. She met Fang's eyes in the crowd and smiled. Her breathing was short and her face was flushed after speaking so passionately for so long. She was surprised when everyone stood up to applaud her.

The Principal took over next. He called out all the students' names and shook each of their hands. After that they were officially graduated from high school.

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"You were amazing," Fang whispered into her ear as she joined him outside. He kissed her temple and she couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She was turning into a regular wimp.

She was totally useless when it came to Fang.

"Thanks," she replied, enjoying the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

"Get a room," Iggy said as he joined them. His hand was wrapped firmly around Nudge's.

Max stared at them for a full minute before she realised what was going on.

"You two are dating?" she exclaimed.

Iggy grinned and Nudge looked shy for once.

"Took you long enough," Fang teased.

"There were complications," Iggy said sheepishly.

"What? What's going on?" Max demanded.

"They've been in love for months, but haven't done anything about it," Fang said patiently. "I thought you would've noticed by now."

She hadn't noticed because she had been too wrapped up in Fang.

"I knew something weird was going on between you guys," she said, trying to retain some of her pride. "It just never occurred to me that it was anything more than friendship. I'm not _that_ dense."

"Whatever makes you feel better," Iggy teased.

She glared at him and he abruptly shut up.

"It's okay Max, we know why you were distracted," Nudge piped up, giving Fang a sly glance.

Max blushed bright red.

Fang just took her hand and smiled.

"Well, I want to hear everything," Max told Nudge. She felt awful for not completely understanding earlier. Of course, now that she thought about it, the signs were all clear.

Nudge led her away from the boys and started to talk.

* * *

That night, Max lay curled up against Fang. They were in their cave, listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the beach. She ran her fingers over his chest and tried not to feel like a complete cliché.

"I'm so proud of you," she told him. Her father had worked Fang hard, but Fang had never backed down. He was rising through the ranks quickly and her father had even acknowledged what a good employee he was. She had no doubt that one day they would be running the company together.

He kissed her forehead and she felt him smile against her.

Sometimes she felt like this would all end. How could she be so happy with her life when she was only a teenager? How could she already know who she was going to spend the rest of her life with? How could she be such a cliché?

As if reading her mind, Fang smoothed his hand over her hair. "Not every good thing has to come to an end."

"How do you do that?" she asked.

She felt him shrug. "You're an open book to me."

But it was more than that. They knew each other so well now that it wasn't about reading expressions or body language. It was more instinctual than that. It was just a fact that she knew everything he was feeling and he knew everything she was thinking. It was magic.

"I suppose you're right. If my life is a cliché, then I suppose I'll just have to settle for being happy for the rest of my life. Everyone wants their life to end in a cliché."

Fang was kissing her then and she fell into the feel of him. She would never get sick of the feeling of his mouth against hers. Every kiss was something new and exciting. Every time he kissed her it was like he was worshiping her mouth.

She smiled against him and pushed him back onto the mattress.

THE END

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**A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed my story. Please leave a review :)**


	21. AN: Sequel?

**A/N: Sequel?**

**I've gotten a few reviews lately requesting a sequel. While I don't have time right now to write one, I might have time in a few months to get started on it. I've got too much study to do at the moment, but I can aim to write a story over the holidays. **

**However, I would rather that if I did do a sequel that it not be entirely based on Fang and Max. There are only so many times you can break a couple up and get them back together again. We've all read a million stories like that.**

**So…I propose that the sequel be about…their children! The idea just came to me and I thought I could get a better story out of it then out of the main characters. Of course, I'll still throw in some FAX for the hell of it. **

**So, I want to know your opinions. Would you read a sequel like the one I'm proposing? If not, tell me the truth. I don't want to write a story that no one's going to read. Also, chuck me some ideas to write about their kids. Names? Plot ideas? Whatever you think of. **

**Of course, I'm open to any other suggestions you might have. :)**

**Keep in mind that I won't have time to write a story straight away and that it might take a while. Unless you want REALLY slow updates? Even slower then I was already updating? Lol. **

**I want to know your thoughts! **


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